Seeing Fate
by Rvlakia Kavair
Summary: Buffy and the team are suddenly surprised when her substitute teacher turns out to be more than the strange 14-year-old historian she first appears to be. But what they don't realise is that something else is coming their way...
1. The Sub Teacher

**Hey there, this is Rvlakia, the author (which you probably quessed). I hope this is OK; it's my first fanfic and as I am a huge supporter of the Buffy series it just seemed right to start off like this. I'd appreciate any comments on how to improve, or what is good about it. I'm looking forward to doing more.  
>~I do not own anything from Buffy or any characters~<strong>

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><p><strong>Seeing Fate<strong>

**1: The Sub Teacher**

It was a cold night. Fog seeped across the grass, twisting through the slabs of stone protruding from the ground. It muffled any noise made by feet stepping across the grass. For example, those of the short blonde girl wearing dark – but stylish – clothes and who was walking innocently past the graves, glancing around every now and then. What she was doing out in the cemetery so late at night I didn't know, but did it matter? Here was my meal, and I was going to take it.

As I crept forward I brushed dirt from my dark suit. Seriously, I'd just crawled out of my own coffin. A weird experience, but messy none the less. Though you could hardly see my grave now, what with the fog and all. But it was so new that it didn't even have a headstone yet. I had no idea who I was. But I did know what I was.

Vampire.

Even as I thought that I began to remember how I changed. I had run out of milk, and went out to get some more from the convenience store, when I was attacked by some girl with blonde hair and a creepy face. Man, I didn't like her. She bit me for God's sake. Insane girl. But I suppose that made me insane then, seeing as we were now the same. Though if I ever found her...

Keeping an eye on the girl, I started to pick up my pace to get closer. My face changed and I felt sharp teeth pushing against my lower lip. I was able to see and smell her better; the fog was no longer a problem. I began to bound towards her, to catch her round the neck and sink my fangs into her flesh.

But then she spun to face me, her hand raised and holding a wooden spike. I stopped dead in my tracks. She stood for a second, her face incredulous.

"Jeff?"

I blinked.

"Buffy? What're you, I mean, why are you here?"

"I felt like taking a walk. And it's my job to kill vampires. Well, not really kill as such, considering you're already dead," she replied.

It was coming back to me now. My name was Jeffery Kearton, I attended Sunnydale High and I was a cool person. Past tense. Now, I wasn't entirely too sure of my status.

"Hey, do you mind if I stake you now? Only, it's cold, and I don't want to just stand around."

"Oh, sure. Stake away." As if I was going to say that. No, instead, I ran. I could sense Buffy behind me, but I picked up my pace and hurtled through trees and over tombs until she dropped behind and gave up. I sighed in relief.

**Buffy's POV**

I stuck the stake back into my leather jacket, then wrapped my arms around me. Jeff was faster as a vamp than he ever was when he was alive. Much faster. Giles was not going to be happy about this. He'd insist I'd do more training. Come on! I knew it all! I'd died once and saved the world twice already. I think I could handle patrols.

Sighing, I began to walk through the creepy fog again.

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><p>I twiddled a pen with my fingers, anticipating being bored out of my mind. I really did not get history! What was the point of knowing all about dead people? And God knows I knew enough about <em>them<em> anyways. I stared at the clock ticking through each second, waiting for the teacher to arrive. We'd be having a sub, Miss Russo, 'cos our normal teach was ill. Everyone was wondering what she'd look like, especially–

"Hey, do you think she'll be old? If 'Miss' is then it'll all be because of her dressing, right? I mean, _no one_ likes a woman who wears disgusting clothes."

The voice came from beside me, scornful and callous, like always. Cordelia always spoke exactly what was on her mind. It didn't matter who to, as long as she could hear her own voice and feel important. Even so, somehow she was part of the Scoobies, battling evil alongside me. She had long-ish brown hair hanging loose, though some of it was tied at the back. Her clothes fit the fashion trend perfectly. Actually, it was Cordelia who set most of them. She was a real spotlight seeker, and she got it easily. It made me feel uncomfortable, thinking that I'd been like that once upon a time.

The door opened and we all sat up straight as Principal Snyder walked in, glaring at us all. It felt specially aimed at me, but when isn't it? He strode forward and stood behind the teacher's desk. Leaning towards us, he spoke.

"Now, you will all have to take good care of Miss Russo whilst she's here. She is a highly skilled historian and that demands respect. Because she belongs to another school I do not wish to see any of you," he said, staring straight at me, "making her feel unwelcome." He stood upright again and adjusted his tie. "Now that's over with; Miss Russo, feel free to teach these kids in any way you deem suitable."

There were a few gentle footsteps as the sub headed for the desk. Snyder whispered something to her as he passed, and she smiled gently. Throughout this process I could feel everyone's mouths dropping open in shock. Good. It wasn't just me gone insane then. Because, despite Cordelia's imaginings, Miss Russo was young.

And when I say young, I meant _very_. She couldn't have been older than an Eighth grader – 13 or 14 - let alone us. Once I'd got over the initial shock I began to take in her features too. She was perfectly normal in height, with slightly darker coloured skin than average. Her eyes were a warm brown and made me think of freshly baked cookies. Her mouth was pulled in the lingering smile from Snyder's comment, but it was kind and homely, rather than bitter like most teachers. But these weren't her most prominent feature. Oh no.

"Look at her hair! That must be against the law! That many dreadlocks, and in pink and yellow too! I thought she was meant to be a history person! She should be boring, like normal teachers!"

God, Cordelia sure knew how to whisper something to everyone so loudly. But her comments had set everybody else off too.

"Yeah! And she's just a little kid! How can she teach us?"

"Hey, it doesn't matter! This means we can mess around!"

"We might make her cry!"

"Aww, such a little baby! Don't cry." This was said in a very patronizing tone. In the hubbub Cordelia leant over to my desk.

"She's not normal; maybe she's some kind of demon! She might've tricked Snyder into thinking she is older than she looks! We have to tell Giles!"

"Miss Cordelia Chase."

It was the girl. As soon as she spoke I recognized her accent. How could I not? I'd had to put up with its nagging for the past couple of years. Yes, she was most definitely English. Just like my good buddy and Watcher, Giles. But at the sound of her voice the class fell silent, waiting for the girl's response to Cordelia's outburst.

"I'd like you – and the rest of the students too – to quieten down and pay attention to class. Oh, and Miss Chase? I suggest you wear the blue one instead of the red. It'll be better, trust me." With that she turned around and picked up the chalk to write her name on the blackboard. Cordelia twisted her head to face me slowly, an indignant and shocked look on her face.

"Did you hear that? How could she know about my skirt choices for my date later? I haven't told anyone what I'm wearing!" Well she had now. "She _is_ a demon! I knew it! How else could she read my mind? We have to get to the library!"

"We have free period next, so we can go then."

Cordelia closed her mouth, nodded, then turned back to the face the front where Miss Russo was now standing with her hands on her hips, smiling casually.

"Now, we're studying English history, no? So, can anybody tell me the names of some of the kings and queens after William the Conqueror?"

I groaned internally and resumed my pen twiddling. No matter the teacher, history was still history. Boring.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Complete!<br>This took a while, mainly because I had no clue what the plotline was going to be!  
>I'm sure it will get easier to write, though school will reduce the time I can spend on it... But as long as the quality is good and you're all happy then it'll all be fine!<strong>

**~Please review~**


	2. The Library

**Hey! It's chapter 2! I'm in the procress of beginning two other fanfics, so I'm a little distracted...**

**~I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any characters from it~**

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><p><strong>2: The Library<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

When the bell rang we all packed up, though I had to hurry Cordelia up a bit. As I walked through the door, bag over my shoulder, I felt Miss Russo's gaze on my back. Shivering for some unknown reason, I ignored her and continued into the corridor. After a quick glance I noticed Snyder standing at the corner and glaring at everyone as they went past. Unfortunately Cordelia had too, and she stormed over to him.

"Principal Snyder, are you aware of the fact that your so called 'Miss Russo' the substitute teacher is no more than a short, 14-year-old demon with a frankly _awful_ hairstyle?"

Cordelia stood there with her hands on her hips and a disapproving look, waiting for Snyder's reply. Maybe she thought he'd come to his senses suddenly and reward her for helping the school, before throwing Miss Russo out. Whatever it was, neither of us was expecting what he did say.

"Of course I know she's 14. But it doesn't matter because she has all the qualifications of a teacher, which is probably more than you'll ever have in your life. Miss Russo is most definitely extraordinary, but isn't a demon. Not that there are such things anyway. I admire her very much and you lot should all aim to be more like her. More..." he paused for effect.

"...civilized. Miss Chase, if I catch you insulting _any_ member of staff again believe me when I say that you will be severely punished.

And the same goes for you, Miss Summers." He looked straight at me, clearly coming to the conclusion that I was the one behind all the trouble. Again.

"Now, I have better things to do than laze around chatting to students less competent than an Eighth grader." Giving us one final warning look, Snyder walked off.

"Well that was rude," Cordelia said. "Who does he think he is? That he has power over us?"

"He does. He's the principal. Though I wouldn't mind if he was eaten by hyena-people too." I really wouldn't. If a single thing went wrong or weird then Snyder was on my case for it, whether it was my fault or not. Granted, I _was_ usually connected to it, but that wasn't the point. Snyder got in the way of my Slayer duties, and that is never a good thing. Thank goodness I'd be out of his reach at the end of the year.

"Hey, do you think we should go to Giles now? Before demon girl kills everyone?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

It wasn't a very long walk to the library, just a couple of right turns and there it was. Cordelia pushed open the double doors and walked straight in. The doors were quite ordinary and had circular windows at eye level, though nobody ever really used them. But the library itself was interesting, if you were the right sort of person.

The room was fairly dim because most things were made of a dark, varnished wood. The entrance opened to a central area, at the centre of which sat a large table with green lamps on it. To either side were small staircases leading up to a raised level, fenced off by waist-high railing. The tall shelves stretched back further than they first appeared to, and loomed over anyone who stood in the narrow aisles in between. If you knew where look then you would be able to find books related to my 'job', stuff on demons and ancient lore, etc. In general, stuff that most school libraries didn't have.

To my immediate left was a white mesh cage that house weapons and very large 'tomes' or whatever to help me in my quest to rid the earth of vampires and other foul creatures of hell that polluted it. Not my words, just some of the many Giles used when he gave one of his lectures about my importance to the world. The cage lived up to it's name every month for the three days when Oz went all wolfy by containing him. That way, he didn't kill anyone.

I've done my left, so now I'll do my right. To be honest, it was a lot more boring. Librarian's office – small and pokey – and in front of it one of those desk/ counter thingies where you check out books. Not that anyone ever did. It was quite lucky that no one liked libraries because it meant that nobody had yet told Snyder about the, oh I don't know, axes and crossbows hanging on the walls and the gruesome pictures in some of the books here. Giles said it was very convenient for the Slayer, having a disused area so close at hand. Even so, I could tell he was a little bit upset by Americans' lack of enthusiasm for places where you could read.

I was slightly curious as to where we'd go once I left Sunnydale High. There was no way Snyder would let us back in when we weren't students here.

Cordelia had already sat down and crossed her legs at one of the chairs surrounding the table. Her bag lay forgotten as she gushed out to Giles.

"I swear, she's evil! Trying to bring around the doom of every fashionable person alive! Is there a demon that does that? She's definitely one of those. With her hair she'll destroy the world as we know it and bring chaos!"

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them a little before replacing them and turning to me. I pouted a little.

"Well I thought – apart from the hair – that Miss Russo was quite nice. Sweet and kinda homey."

Cordelia gaped at me.

"What are you talking about Buffy? Don't tell me you've fallen under her spell?"

At that moment the doors eased open. Ok, so maybe there was _one_ person who used the library, but she was with us, so it didn't really count.

Willow walked in. She had red hair and was fairly small in stature. Her clothes – which Cordelia often mocked – were chosen by her mother and not very fashionable. Willow was shunned by most people as 'uncool', but she was clever and a major asset to our team. She could use the computer much better than any of us. She was smiling widely as she dumped a couple of books on the counter.

"What's got you all happy then?"

Willow looked at me and grinned even more. She was very happy, and so I was too.

"I was just told that 'I should be confident because in the future I'm going to be very important and the world depends on me. I will be above the people who mock me now, and can kick their asses whenever I want. I will be powerful, if I believe I will be.' The way she said just makes it sound like fact! I like the idea of I like the idea of kicking ass!"

"That's great Willow!" I decided I was going to like whichever person made her this happy. "Who told you all of this?"

"The new substitute teacher, Miss Russo! I really like her, and I haven't even had her for class yet! She seems so sure of herself, it's amazing! She can handle trouble makers with only a couple of words! Wow, just, yeah, wow!"

As soon as Willow had said the teacher's name we'd all frozen. There was an awkward silence once she'd finished. Her face fell a little

"What, are you not happy?"

"Of course I'm happy that you're happy Will. It's just that–"

Cordelia cut me off, as she does.

"Miss Russo's evil, Willow! You fallen for it too! She already got Buffy; how long before she gets Giles and Xander and everybody else! Am only I seeing things clearly?"

Cordelia paused for a moment. Then a look of wonder came across her face, like she'd discovered something enlightening and important.

"I must have some kind of... immunity to her spells! I'm the only person who can stop her. Giles, tell me what to do!" By the end of it Cordelia was panicking.

"Now, let's just calm down shall we?" Giles was brilliant in these situations. Always calm and bringing out the best ideas of what to do. "Are you absolutely _sure_ she's a demon?"

"Yes! She tricked Snyder and all the students into thinking there's nothing wrong with her being here!"

"Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with her!"

Cordelia shot out of her seat and pointed at her.

"See? She even got Willow!"

"It does sound convincing, but why does she need to make him believe she should be here? Does she actually look like a demon rather than having a guise or something?"

"Well, not like a demon _exactly_." Cordelia faltered a bit.

"Then what?"

"She needs to trick him because she–"

Before Cordelia could finish the door slid open. This time it was not a member of the Scoobies.

It was Miss Russo.

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><p><strong>Dun dun duuuuuuuunn!<strong>

**~Hehe Please review~**


	3. Truth

**I apologise to anyone who actually reads this for the rubbish time between then last chapter and this. Blame school!**

**So here it is, for those who read it, chapter 3 of Seeing Fate. **

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><p><strong>3: Truth<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

_Before Cordelia could finish the door slid open. This time it was not a member of the Scoobies._

_It was Miss Russo._

It seemed like hours before we were able to move again. Each second lasted longer than it should've, and everything was in slow motion.

Miss Russo smiled at us.

"Hello Buffy. Cordelia. Willow."

I was jerked back to the situation and began to breathe again. My sudden freeing set the others off as well, and they all moved too. Willow stepped backwards, Cordelia sat down and Giles headed behind the counter. Russo followed him but stood on the other side.

"So what's such a young student doing here? Is there an exchange trip going on?" Giles asked.

Miss Russo smiled again.

"Something like that."

What? Why was Giles asking questions like that? I didn't understa– oh. We hadn't actually described Russo to him. He had no idea who she was.

"So, what do you need then? Geography book? History?"

"No. I'm sure I don't need history books," Russo laughed.

"I should hope not," Cordelia snorted.

"How rude. What are you talking about?" Giles looked at her disapprovingly.

"Well, I don't want to get taught history by someone who still needs to learn it!"

"Taught? Cordelia, have you fallen so behind in your grades that you need a tutor?" asked Giles.

"Me? So now I'm the one in the wrong? Society is so unfair!"

"Cordelia, please. Manners."

Giles had fallen completely from the loop of understanding. I decided to help out a bit.

"Giles, this is Miss Russo." I put some heavy implication on her name. The watchers eyes widened and his mouth fell open but he quickly recovered his composure.

"So you're Miss Russo then? Buffy and Cordelia have been telling me all about you."

"Only good things I hope."

"So what were you looking for? I assure you we have a lot in this library."

"Can you get me a book on vampires please?"

We fell into our frozen state once more. Giles quickly tried to cover up.

"I'm afraid we don't do anything like that here. I there anything else?"

Nothing in particular. What a shame there's no vampire books. I would've expected some here." She didn't look like she believed what Giles said. "Mind if I take a look at the books on the shelves then?"

"Of course. Go on."

Russo patted him on the back and wandered off into the shelves. When we'd given her enough time to get away from earshot, Giles snuck over to me and whispered,

"There's certainly something different about her. I could feel it when she patted me. She could well be a demon."

"Well I'm glad someone agrees!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Shh!"

It was tense time between that and when Miss Russo reappeared carrying two small volumes; one about Asian religions and the other about the French revolution. She looked at us all standing there. When her eyes fell on Cordelia though, her face bore a frown.

"Don't do it Miss Chase. Don't wear it."

Cordelia was indignant at this.

"Why can't I? It's my life! I can do what the hell I want!"

"What's going on?" Giles muttered to me. Russo caught what he said and snapped,

"This girl will not listen to my advice and wear the blue skirt tonight! Just trust me when I say this – if you wear the red one, it will have disastrous consequences for you!"

"So you are a demon! You're reading my mind again!"

The was a silence as we all took in the fact that Cordelia had given away everything we knew about Miss Russo. The sub herself just blinked, before looking like she was about to laugh.

"Demon? Mind reading? I think you've got me mixed up with Pablo and Jabez!"

We were dumbfounded. We had a very strange situation on our hands. This unknown person, who may or may not have been a beast of hell, was chuckling in amusement at our accusation. When she'd got the laughing out of her system her face hardened a bit.

"Chase, wear the blue one. Trust me on this."

"Why should I?"

"Because if you wear the red one you'll be dead by the end of the day."

"What?"

"If you go wearing the red skirt, it will catch the eye of a particularly nasty vampire. Then when you leave he will attack you."

"I think I can handle vampires, thank you very much!"

"Let me finish. He will attack you and you put up a good fight. But as you run you are slowed by that same red skirt, and he catches up pretty quickly before snapping your neck and drinking your blood. Satisfied now?"

There was a brief pause as the two studied each other. Then,

"Good," Russo said. "I'm glad you took my advice. And now…" she turned to face Giles and me, "I would like you to tell me the truth about the vampire books. I find it highly unlikely that you don't have a single one here on the Hellmouth."

What? She knew about the Hellmouth? Just who was she?

"Uh, Miss Russo? Maybe, if you told us about you first…?" Willow finally said something.

"Oh. Of course, sorry. Well, what do you need to know?"

"Who are you really?"

"My name is Sicily Aza Fiore Russo, I was born on the same island as my name. So I'm Italian, though I can see you thought I was English because of my accent. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I attend a school called SH, which backs onto the UH school. Normally, I'd be in UH, but I prefer it in SH."

"What is UH and SH?"

"SH is just a normal school I suppose. UH is for demons, creatures, witches, mythical beasts, etc. I myself am a psychic. I can see a person's fate at any point in their life. Unless they're dead of course. Because they have no future to see. I can see their pasts though, it's just a bit blurry. So you," she looked straight at me before tilting her head to the side, "what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are one of the most confusing people I've ever met. You fate keeps going in and out of focus, and you have so many possible futures. Tell me, have you died?"

"Yes, a few years back."

"There you go. And it was a pretty dress by the way."

"Uh, thanks?" I wasn't entirely sure what to make of this. It had all happened so suddenly.

"Miss Russo –" started Giles.

"Please," she interrupted, "Call me Sicily."

"All right then; Sicily, why are you here?"

"A few weeks ago, someone came to the island with my school on it. Completely by accident of course, so they were mind wiped and taken away. But when I saw his fate, I saw this town of Sunnydale, and the things that will happen here. In particular, a demon."

"What did it look like? We can find it in the books."

"Don't worry about that. I already know what it is. It's a Gjraael demon."

Giles frowned.

"I've never heard of that before."

"I didn't think you would've. Gjraael demons are almost extinct. Their food is the souls of freshly dead humans. They can't eat anything else, but a single soul will keep them alive for a year. As such, the Gjraael demons were fearsome and killed many so that they could live forever. Then, three thousand years ago, it came to an end."

Miss Russo – Sicily – drew up a chair and sat down. Giles followed suit, as did Willow, whilst saying,

"What happened to them?"

"A curse was place upon the race. A curse that never allowed them to kill a human without dying themselves. And because they had no concept of strategy or holding back, the Gjraael died out.

Or so it was thought. Having seen this demon in the future, I researched him intensively. It turns out that one was clever. He got others to kill for him, seeing as the curse didn't react to that. He prefers to feast upon large groups at a time. And he's here, in Sunnydale."

We were all silent for a while. Something as big as this was hard to take in. But I was curious.

"If you're following a Giraffe demon or whatever, why did you ask about vampires?"

"Because they're the main pest around here, no? There's a lot of them, so it's highly likely that they're who Lell will ask."

"Lell?"

"The demon. Anyway, I followed the trail here. And I came to the library, hoping I could find something to help me. Then I saw all of your fates, and I'm pretty sure that you're just what I need, vampire slayer. Will you help me?"

"Could you give us some time to think about it?" interrupted Giles before I could say anything.

"Of course. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow in History. Bye." So saying, Sicily pushed back her chair and strode out of the room.

My mind was reeling. Here was a total stranger who knew everything about us all. Not to mention some old demon intent on killing people. What could we do but continue life as normal?

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><p><strong>Note: Gjraael is pronounced 'gi-ra-al'./**

**I hope this is an OK chapter. Don't ask me why the demon is called Lell; he just is. **

**So now you know who Sicily is. In truth, she is a character from a book a friend is writing (though made by me). The author of the UH series is currently sitting next to me...**

**Michi: Yay hiya! :3**

**... and such a cool person she is. Please review! **


	4. A Girl and Her Gun

**Hello! Merry Christmas to anyone that celebrates it, and Happy Holidays to anyone that doesn't! **

**This is the longest chapter I've uploaded so far, so YAY! **

**There's a new character in this, and I'd appreciate ANY opinions on her. Thank you! **

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><p><strong>4: A Girl and Her Gun<strong>

**3****rd**** Person POV**

After they learnt the truth about Sicily the group had a discussion. It went something like this:

**Cordelia:** I don't trust her.

**Willow:** Well I think she's telling the truth.

**Cordelia:** Who asked you?

**Giles:** Now, now girls. Buffy, what do you think?

**Buffy:** I think we need to find out whether she's making it up. Giles, can you take a look in a demon encyclopaedia or something?

**Giles:** Of course. Willow, could you pass me that big black book behind you?

**Willow:** Sure. Let's find 'Lell'. _*Slam*_

**Giles:** Thank you. _*Flipping of pages*_ Ah. Gjraael demon. Thought to be extinct…. curse …. Yes. It's all here. Except about this 'Lell' fellow.

**Cordelia:** If you've gotta make up a name for a demon you should at least make it scary. 'Lell', how stupid.

**Giles:** Not necessarily. Demons do have different cultures than ours, remember, so for them 'Lell' might be terrifying.

**Buffy:** The amount of times we've said 'Lell' in the past ten seconds is ridiculous.

**Willow:** Uh, guys? Do you think we should get back to the situation at hand?

**Giles:** You're right. In that case, I think we should proceed cautiously until we know exactly what is going on here.

**Buffy:** I think we should trust her. I mean, she hasn't done anything to hurt us has she?

**Cordelia:** Oh please. Not done anything? Did you _see_ her hair?

**Giles:** It's hardly fair to judge someone on their appearances.

**Cordelia:** Oh come on! You can tell loads about a person from their appearance! Take Willow for example. In just one glance you can tell she's a computer nerd who has no control over her life and let's her mom choose her clothes.

**Willow:** Hey! I object to my use as an example!

**Giles:** That's beside the point Cordelia.

**Buffy:** Hello? Evil demon on the loose here? Pay attention. Will, you stay here with Giles and do as much research as possible. We'll all come back to the library at 9:30 and see what we've found. Got it?

**Willow:** Right. I'm on it.

**Giles:** We'll try our best to find out about 'Lell'.

**Cordelia:** I'm not coming back. I have a date. To which I shall be wearing my blue skirt. _*Chair scrapes backward. Footsteps. Door opening then swinging shut*_

**Buffy:** Anyway, back here at 9:30. I'll tell Xander and Oz.

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><p>The sun set outside, but Willow didn't notice. She was too busy scanning through various texts. The first clue she had about the time that had passed was when she glanced briefly at a clock.<p>

"Woah," she exclaimed in surprise. "That went fast."

She stood up and began to collect all the books she'd finished and were useless. Staggering slightly under their weight she took them back to their rightful shelves, sliding them into place carefully. When she'd done that she returned to the main room.

Willow peeked into the librarian's office. Giles was still reading, blissfully unaware of the time, just as she'd been. She knocked on the open door and the Watcher jumped slightly.

"Oh, Willow. Is it really that late? The others should be coming back soon."

"Did you find anything?"

Giles looked downcast.

"I'm afraid not."

"Oh well. I'm sure we'll find something… eventually. Tea?" she queried, perking up slightly. The single word seemed to have a similar effect on Giles, who sat up a little bit straighter and adjusted his glasses before saying,

"Yes please."

Willow headed to the little kitchen area and filled the kettle, placing it back on its mat and switching it on. She pulled two mugs from the cupboard and added some milk to them. Then she leant on the counter and waited for the water to boil.

Meanwhile, Giles was performing the same task she had earlier and was replacing books into their rightful places. There was something therapeutic about the task, and Giles found himself humming quietly. His good mood was only increased when he returned to a hot cup of tea, which he promptly took a sip of.

The two researchers were relaxing comfortably when the door swung open and Oz walked in.

"Hey Will," he said, walking over to her. "Do I get tea too?"

Willow smiled at him.

"There's some hot water left in the kettle." Oz headed over and poured himself a mug of steaming water, dropping a teabag into it. He soon returned with a fully made cup of tea. The trio remained in an easy silence that wasn't awkward or needing to be broken. Unfortunately, it was broken by the door opening again. Looking up to see who had arrived this time Willow came face to face with a vampire.

Letting out a small scream Willow jumped back and dropped the mug. It shattered on the floor and a pool of boiling liquid began to spread out. Willow ignored the mess and scrambled to the stairs and up to the raised level. Giles and Oz copied this, though thankfully they put down their cups onto the table first.

The vampire growled and quickly headed for the stairs on his left. In a split second the three humans banded together and pushed over the closest bookcase, the books themselves – so caringly replace earlier – toppling to the floor in a cascade of pages and covers. The group rushed to the opposite side and repeated the task before the vamp could keep up.

Having not had the chance to get proper weapons in their flee from the blood-sucking creature they quickly grabbed a book each from the floor and gave the vamp a good smack with them every time he tried to get over the railing. It was tiring work and not very effective, so they could only hope that Buffy would get their soon.

Unfortunately, Buffy was currently at home and being railed at by her mother once again.

The vampire was getting into an incredible rage and roared out his anger, sweeping his arms around and knocking over the two remaining cups of tea in the process. He leapt at the defenders again, this time snatching the book from Willow's grasp and chuckling in delight at his victory. It was small and short-lived though as the girl proceeded to throw books at him, making the vampire back away step by step. Giles joined in but it pained him every time one of his precious volumes rebounded off of the enemy and into one of the three puddles on the floor.

Willow's arms began to get heavy and her throwing pace slowed. The vampire's eyes gleamed as he finally managed to take one step forward. Despair began to well up in their hearts as he advanced upon them, their efforts now becoming futile.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The shots rang out through the library and down the corridors of the school. A girl stepped through the doors with two guns in her hands, alternating shots from each. She wore canvas army trousers and a simple shirt with an open jacket on top. Her turquoise hair hung to her shoulders and her eyes were focused on her target.

"Hey, did you know you were followed today?" she addressed Oz, without taking her eyes off of the vampire. She shot a few more bullets at her adversary.

The vampire jerked with each bullet that passed through him. He turned to face the newcomer, his mangy hair falling over his eyes. She raised an eyebrow.

"Not dead, eh?" She looked at the frozen three up by the scattered bookcases. "Gimme a clue guys?"

"Eh? Oh! Beheading, staking, fire!" Willow blurted out, automatically responding to their saviour's needs.

The blue haired girl contemplated briefly.

"Beheading takes too long. I don't currently have a stake. Fire it is then." Upon saying so she released the gun from her right hand and pulled another from her trouser pocket. This one had a longer barrel that thinned at the end and a can attached to its underside.

Impatient, the vampire launched himself at his new foe just as she pulled the trigger. There was a roaring noise, soon paled in comparison to the crackling as the vampire was submerged in flames and he began to sizzle. He screamed, attempting a final lunge at the girl but breaking into ash before he could reach her.

There was a shocked silence as Willow, Oz and Giles took in what had just happened. The girl however, simply placed her flamethrower on the table and retrieved her handgun from the floor, putting that and the one in her left hand next to the weapon of mass destruction.

Finally coming to their senses the three stunned friends hurried to push one of the bookcases out of the way so they could return to the central area. Giles immediately set about collecting the books from the floor like the librarian he was, whilst Willow headed for paper towels to wipe up the spilled tea. Oz approached the girl by the table.

"That's cool," he commented, pointing to the flamethrower. The girl glanced at him.

"It is. I made it myself. Modified one of my old guns. You just can't seem to buy a pocket-sized thrower anywhere."

Oz took a look at the other weapons. They were different to each other, and he questioned her about this.

"At least you can tell one gun from another. This," she replied, indicating to the right gun, "is a Glock 17. Semi-automatic. Now, I like Glocks a lot because you can just pull the trigger and 'BANG'. And this one on the left is also a semi, similar to the Glock in build, price _and_ quality; a Springfield Armory XD 45 ACP. I prefer this to the Glocks though. It's just that little bit more comfortable to shoot. A lot of people prefer the Glock because they know it, and if you wanna bet your life on one, go for the Glock. They're both great guns really. Easy to carry and get through customs. For me, anyway."

Oz patiently listened and filed away the information for – possible – future use as the girl continued to explain the benefits and downsides of various models of guns. She seemed totally unaware that he didn't share her same fascination with the weapons, though she did appear to be simplifying what she said a little.

When the floor was completely dry Willow threw away the last of the paper towels. Giles had stacked the books at the sides of the room until further notice, and they both turned their attention to the girl.

Willow was about to ask who she was when, CRASH!

The doors slammed open again and Sicily hurried in, a panicked look on her face.

"Is everyone all right? I saw–" Her voice cut off when she caught sight of the girl. There was an awkward pause where nobody dared move, or even breath. The blue-haired saviour broke the tension by lifting her hand and grinning.

"Yo, Sicily."

Everything started again and Sicily moved forward to envelop the girl in a hug.

"Maria."

"Okaay, enough of the hugging," Maria said, gently pushing Sicily away.

"What are you doing here?" the historian asked.

"Well, I followed Tanny… Is she not here yet? I should've known. Always gets sidetracked."

Giles coughed to get some attention.

"I hate to interrupt this reunion, but what's going on?"

Sicily beamed at him.

"Sorry. I guess things are a bit out of control now. This is Maria. She goes to the same school I do. I don't know what happened here, but today I caught sight of someone's future - someone who would come to the library in the morning and find the place wrecked and you three dead. So I hurried here, hoping I'd be in time to save you. But it seems this was a flux point where Maria was the Unknown, so the future I saw was not the future that would happen."

Giles studied Sicily for a while, figuring out what she'd said in his head. Then he hit upon something that made him frown.

"Are you saying that you can't see the future perfectly?"

"Dear me, no. That would make me God. I just see past and future fates, and any futures that have an equal chance of happening. All decisions change the future, but most are too small to make a big difference. I couldn't warn you about this earlier because you only decided to stay here after I'd left."

"That sounds very complicated," Oz inputted.

"Oh it is. Not even I can work it out sometimes."

"Guuuuys," Maria whined. "Can we stop the fate talk? It's hurting my head. And just so you know..." she sat down on a chair and put her feet up on the table, "I have nowhere to stay, so I'm going to be living here for a while. 'Kay?"

Giles wasn't too pleased, but before he could say anything to the gunner, Sicily agreed with her.

"That's actually a good idea. If Tanny is coming then she might end up here anyway."

Giles gave an exasperated sigh. There was nothing he could do about Maria staying, and there was another one of them on the way.

Just then, the door opened and everyone tensed up for a fight. Then they relaxed. Willow didn't know about anyone else, but she was getting irritated by all the freezing they did. This time was completely pointless, as the one who walked in was Buffy. Surveying the mess, Buffy looked suspiciously at Maria.

"Would someone tell me what's going on here?"

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><p><strong>There you go! Chapter 4, done!<strong>

**Personally, I like Maria. In the future you might want to skip her weaponry rants though; she can go on for quite a while.**

**I'm also sorry for ending in this way again. I just keep coming back to these cliffhangery-things. Habit, I suppose.**

**Please review, and Merry Christmas! XD**


	5. Hell's Angel

**For anyone who actually reads this, I am sorry for the lateness!**

**Suddenly school started again and it's exam time, revision, homework and rehearsing 24/7. All of it really takes the imagination out of you. **

**Anyway, even though the wait was this long, this chapter is a filler really. Though trust me, more will happen in Chapter 6.**

**Oh, and Sicily talks in Italian here, so you can either ignore it or translate it if you want to (I will admit to using googletranslate I'm so sorry).**

**Anyways, I'm talking too much, here's the chapter! Please review!**

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><p><strong>5: Hell's Angel<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

"Oh."

Having had the situation explained to me I could make much more sense of the scene. I wasn't too keen on the new girl though. With her blue hair and interest…..no,_ obsession_ with weaponry she gave off a dangerous air. I'd have to keep an eye on Maria.

Over at the counter Sicily had picked up the phone. She dialled a number and held it to her ear, waiting through the tone patiently. Soon the connection clicked, and there was an answer from the other end.

"_Sì?"_

"Ciao Valentino. Ho qualcosa di cui parlare con voi."

I blinked. What had she just said?

"_Dove sei adesso? Improvvisamente detto che stavano per aiutare qualcuno di nuovo, imballato e sinistra. Mi hai sempre paura quando si esegue questa operazione."_

"Ci dispiace. Era urgente però. Una questione di vita o di morte."

Wait. She wasn't even talking in English. Then that means she really was Italian all along. To be honest, I thought the nationality was just something she made up, but I suppose I was wrong.

"_Questo è sempre il caso. Io sono il tuo fidanzato, ma non mi hai detto cosa sta succedendo."_

"Ti amo Tino, sai che fare. Non avrei mai tenere niente da te. Io non ho avuto il tempo di spiegarlo poi."

"_Va bene. Volete spiegare a me allora? Ho solo bisogno della versione ridotta, però, l'Amore. Lo storico in voi l'amore di trascinare le cose."_

I began to take notice of the voice on the other end of the line. Though we were hearing it through the telephone it was clear that the person was a guy. His voice was gentle throughout what we heard, and it had a calming effect on everyone in the room, making us content to just sit quietly and listen. But I still didn't know what they were talking about.

"Vero. Comunque, il problema principale qui è un demone che vuole uccidere un sacco di gente, così da poter banchettare con le loro anime. Uno piuttosto brutto anche, e molto intelligente."

"_Mamma mia. Ma come posso aiutare? Sono solo un essere umano ordinario. Non vuoi che una delle persone UH per aiutare?"_

Ah! Something I heard in that last part twigged my memory. UH... that was the school Sicily and Maria came from. So they were talking about their school.

"Cara, non sei mai stato ordinario per me. Anche adesso che ho appena trovato l'oggetto del presente bando."

"_Davvero? Non riesco a vedere come. Tesoro, dovrete spiegare."_

"Da UH. Maria è qui."

"_Maria ... le armi padrone?"_

"Gli stessi. E 'stata una sorpresa, ma un benvenuto suppongo."

Sicily sounded like she was explaining something. She laughed at the end of her latest comment, just a light chuckle.

"_Allora il problema è?"_

"Ha detto che seguì Tanny."

"_Ah. Vedo il problema ora. Ho fatto chiedo dove è andata ..."_

A slighty shocked expression appeared on Sicily's face whilst the person on the end of the line took on a reminiscent tone. A small hint of annoyance crept into her voice, but it was barely noticable. I had the feeling that Sicily was someone who didn't let her feelings get the better of her very much.

"Eh? Tu lo sapevi?"

"_Non è difficile scoprirlo. Tanny è al centro dell'attenzione. Ha lasciato pochi giorni fa. Non ha specificato dove, diversi da quelli 'da qualche parte divertente'."_

"Almeno era solo Tanny."

There was a sense of relief briefly as there was no more said for a while. Then...

"_Beh ..."_

"Che cosa è Amore?"

Sicily's eyes narrowed the tiniest bit.

"_Seth è andato troppo. Tanny lo prese con sé."_

"Dannazione. Se fosse stata qualsiasi altra persona che sarebbe stato bene. Ma Seth? E 'una di quelle persone che tutti seguono e gli piace! Carissimi, tenere d'occhio gli altri studenti UH per favore? Ho la sensazione che alcuni di loro potrebbero seguire ..."

It sounded to me like a new name had entered the conversation. 'Seth' didn't sound particularly Italian. I wondered who it was.

"_Farò del mio meglio. E 'difficile per me entrare in quella parte della scuola. Anche voi avete problemi a volte."_

"Questo è innegabile. Tuttavia, fare ciò che si può. Contattarmi a questo numero se succede qualcosa. Va bene lasciare un messaggio con un uomo chiamato Giles. E 'il bibliotecario qui."

"_Ah, uno spirito affine, non il mio amore? In questo caso, avere un buon tempo possibile, e non lasciate che Maria rompere troppa roba."_

"Non lo farò. Io ti amo."

I got the feeling, just from the way the phone callers both spoke, that they were exchanging goodbyes of an incredibly friendly kind.

"_E io ti. Il tuo amore significa di più che la mia vita."_

"E sarei disposto a morire per il tuo bene."

"_Stare al sicuro, il mio dolce."_

"Sì."

There was a click as the phone returned to its usual resting place and Sicily turned to face us. Free from the Italians' spell I glanced around. To my left was Maria, reclining in a chair with hands tucked behind her head and her feet on the table. A smirk decorated her face as she adressed her schoolmate.

"Did you have fun talking to your boyfriend? Sounded like you went all soppy when saying goodbye~."

Sicily beamed at this.

"Yes! Tino is the best in the world!"

The two of them had used so many names between them that I didn't recognise, which meant that I was getting a little fed up. There was also the tiniest bit of envy upon finding out that even an eighth grader had a better relationship than I did.

"So, what exactly is happening?" asked Giles.

"Well, turns out that it's not just Tanny coming, but Seth too. Although why a certain someone didn't tell me about this..."

"Hey, you never asked," Maria said.

"So that makes two for sure. Giles, if you get a phone call from a boy called 'Valentino' then please take his message and inform me as soon as possible."

"Hang on," I interupted. "What do you mean by 'two for sure'?"

"Seth's coming. As simple as." Maria's comment was short, blunt and not very helpful. Sicily decided to put me out of my confusion.

"You see, Seth is a nice guy. He just has this habit of making people his friends. But it means that there is a high possibility of someone else following. In this situation they're Unknown factors, so even I don't know what will happen."

I was beginning to see the problem. These people from their school were probably eccentrics too, and God knew we didn't need any more of them in town. Sure, Sicily was nice and all, but I didn't know if I could say the same about Maria. Hopefully, the others wouldn't be as strange.

The doors slid open and Xander walked in, carrying a box of doughnuts in his hands. He stopped abruptly upon seeing people he didn't know. His mouth fell open and he stood stock still for roughly five seconds before sidling over to me. He kept his voice in a whisper as he spoke.

"Hey, Buffy? Why are there cute girls here and who are they?"

"Trust me, you do NOT want to go after these girls. That one there is pathologically obssessed, and that one is a teacher."

"Woah... awesome." He raised his voice. "Hey! Sorry about being late; I stopped to get doughnuts!" He placed the box dramatically on the table. "Lucky I bought a pack of eight. Everyone can have one!"

There was a mad scramble for the right to the best ones, including myself. Pretty soon the box was empty, meaning someone had taken two. I had come away with a normal jam doughnut and I took a bite quickly. At the furthest end of the table Xander had struck up a converstaion with Maria, probably trying to use his knowledge on army weapons to impress her. And clearly ignoring my advice.

We talked about battle stratagies and defensive plans for a long while. After the doughnuts had been finished there had been a certain level of sombrerity, broken only by Xanders jokes. At one point Maria had gotten hold of some wood and was carving her own stakes from it. When she noticed that we were all watching her in silent disbelief she just looked at us and simply asked, "What?". We could think of nothing to say and just left her to it.

By the end of it all I was tired of thinking cleverly, and excused myself by saying I had to go on patrol. I didn't go straight away though. First I went to see Angel.

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><p><strong>Angel's POV<strong>

I watched Buffy's retreating figure with regret, her hair being ruffled by a slight breeze. She'd just asked me to find any large groups of vampires and ask them about a demon called 'Lell'. I was aware of the situation thanks to her explaining so I knew I had to do my best. Though I'd rather be alone. Other vampires just weren't very accepting.

I made my way to the fridge to get a drink_ (A/N, Blood, for anyone who didn't realise XD)_. Before I could get there though, something caught my eye. A small movement, but enough to tell me that there was someone inside my mansion, just on the other side of the wall...

Keeping my footsteps light I moved closer to the corner, then stepped out from behind it. I would've thought the intruder would be suprised by my appearance. Or at least turn around. Instead she kept on rifling through the possesions I had and humming a light, skippy tune.

She was shorter than me, not much older than fourteen I would've guessed. She wore trousers and a light blouse, but the most noticeable thing about her was her bright pink and yellow hair. It stood out like a sore thumb amongst the dark interiors of my mansion. But it didn't matter who she was or what she looked like. I needed to know what was going on.

"What're you doing?"

Even then she didn't turn around, just replied with "What does it look like? I'm going through your stuff. Aha!" Straightening to her normal level she held up the item she'd pulled from a cupboard. It was a bottle filled with an inky coloured wine.

"Nice. Sagrantino. Quite old too, and well kept. Well, I suppose you would never need to live in a warm temperature now, would you?"

I recalled that the wine was one I'd gotten from when I was in Italy. I just never got round to drinking it. I sighed.

"Look, just who are you?"

"Calm down. It's not like I'm going to kill you or anything. I'm just the reason you're looking for Lell. Buffy told you about me." She turned around at last, her eyes closed and a smile on her face. "Hi. I'm Sicily."

I thought back on what I had been told, and confirmed that what she claimed fit with my information. So this was the girl who saw the future.

Her smile remained but on a lower key as she opened her eyes. She looked at me for a while, then squinted and leaned forward slightly. I took and involuntary step back. Sicily placed the bottle on the table top and made her way to me. She circled me, observing me from every angle.

"You. So difficult to read. And I really want to know what happened now." She halted in front of me. "You're dead, but you have a soul still. I'd like to do a deeper reading. Is that all right with you?"

"Uh…yes?"

"Great." She quickly placed her hands on either side of my face and brought our foreheads together, shutting her eyes again. I pulled away, or at least tried to. She kept me there with a vice-like grip that even I couldn't fight.

"Stop moving. Eh. Irish. Pretty normal…oh, so that's when you got changed to a vampire. Wow. Loads of people dying. You were pretty mean, huh Angelus? Ooh, nice. Good on you gypsies. What a well thought out curse. Well that's depressing. Aha! There's Buffy! Nice, a bit of romance… oops. Probably shouldn't have watched that bit. Oh, now you're evil again. And now Buffy sent you to hell." Sicily's arms began to shake and soon her whole body was too. I could hear her grit her teeth together."Hell…" The commentary stopped for a minute or so before she finished. Gasping slightly she pushed me away from her and fell to the floor. I recovered my balance quickly but she didn't look too good. I made to help her, but before I could she stood up on her own, a smile back on her face. I stopped abruptly. That was a quick personality change.

"Well you really have been to hell haven't you? You must be finding it hard to adjust back to life here? Poor choice of words. Ignore the life bit."

"Well, I suppose. You wouldn't really understand what it's like though, not if you hadn't been there."

"Trust me; I know _exactly_ what it was like for you."

"Are you ok?"

"Absolutely fine. Hey, ignoring your past for now, you have a really lucky fate. Or rather, you're lucky to have the kind of fate you do."

"What're you talking about?"

"Your future. You only have one. A one track train line, Angel. Nothing will stop the final result of your…existence." After saying this seriously she clapped her hands together once, loudly. "Alright! Now that's out of the way it's time to say goodbye. I only followed Buffy out of curiosity in the first place."

I grabbed her arm.

"Are you sure you're all right? If you just saw my past–"

"I'm fine, really. I've lived through worse." I didn't understand how she could be fine. I still wasn't fully over it. How could she recover in just a few seconds?

"Angel, you're not the only one with a bad past. Trust me. I'm used to it." Sicily smiled sweetly before turning around and walking off, out of the mansion. The weird thing was, I actually did trust her. I had from the moment she first spoke to me. Strange.

Then I realized she'd stolen my Sagrantino wine.

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><p><strong>So thank you for reading this story, and I apologise again for the lateness. I'll try my best to update quicker.<strong>

**~Please Review~**


	6. Candyfloss and Bubblegum

**Sorry for taking so long to do this. I could give you a huge list of reasons why, but the main ones are, 1) I was banned from my laptop and 2) my great-aunt Annie died :-( **

**So here's the next chapter for you to read. Please review.**

**~I don't own anything here, not even the extra characters. Those are Michi's XD ~**

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><p><strong>6: Candyfloss and Bubblegum<strong>

**3****rd**** Person POV**

The two of them walked down the street. Or rather, one walked and the other skipped. This was a girl with bright pink hair in pigtails and dressed in lolita style. A wide grin stretched across her face as she turned to look at her companion, a boy with blue hair, contrasting with hers. He wore more casual clothing.

The boy's orange eyes surveyed the surroundings whilst ignoring the girl who was cart wheeling from one side of the road to the other, somehow just missing being hit by the cars driving past. He was worried about her, yet knew she wouldn't get hurt that easily. The girl finally seemed to get bored and somersaulted to land right next to him, finishing in a dramatic end pose.

"I should probably say this… we're lost."

"Nonsense!" she sang, waving away his comment with her hand. "I know exactly where we are!" she paused and looked around. "Have we been here before?"

"Yes," the boy said. "Four times at least."

The girl smirked at him.

"See! I'm not lost! If I was lost then we would've been here at least seventeen times!"

"Uh, I don't think that's something to be proud of…" He'd already lost the attention of the girl. Instead she was focused on an ice cream van that hadn't been there the previous times. She hurried over to it, bouncing up onto her toes to peek inside the vehicle and startling the person inside at the same time.

"Ice cream! Hey, ice cream dude, what sorts do you sell?"

"Well we do ice lollies and flakes and – hey!" At this moment the girl had decided she couldn't wait and scrambled into the van herself, landing on her backside next to the cooler, which she promptly opened and began rummaging in. She seemed to be searching for something and when she couldn't find it once more turned to the seller.

"Do you have any _interesting_ flavours, like raspberry or coconut or something?"

"Not really…"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwww! I bet that means no bubblegum either!" She turned to her friend who was standing outside with a concerned look on his face. "Sorry! No bubblegum flavour!"

"Why would I want bubblegum? And shouldn't you get out of there?"

"It has to be bubblegum for you! It matches your hair!"

"Um…" the seller interrupted, "If you want more types of ice cream then you could go to our store in the mall…"

"Wow! What a great idea! Thanks ice cream dude! Let's go!" And with that she climbed up onto the ledge of the serving hatch and sprang off of it, forward a nearly impossible ten meters with ease and began skipping at an incredible speed as soon as she landed. She spun 180' at the peak of one of her jumps to face the boy.

"Come on! Let's get some ice cream for you!"

"Hold on!" He looked at the van and the shocked man in it with an apologetic expression on his face. "Sorry about all of this."

"Hurry up Seth!"

"I'm coming! Wait up! Tanny!

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><p><strong>Giles' POV<strong>

"So, I was thinking, maybe I could get a badge or a cloak or something. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"And what would it say on it, 'Xander the Donut Guy'?"

"That's mean Will! I do more than just getting donuts!" Xander complained.

"Well, we all like donuts, so I think it's a very important job. If we get hungry we can't focus as much," Oz interjected. We were heading to the library to drop off some more books that we'd collected before school began. Anything we could do to help fight the demon. However, none of us were expecting the sight before us as the doors opened.

Sicily was sitting at the table with her head flat on top of it. Hearing us entering she dragged it up and looked in our direction. Her eyes were unfocused and her cheeks flushed. The key to these symptoms lay in the empty bottle of wine beside her. Any person could put two and two together and reach the conclusion I did at that moment.

I walked to the girl and bent down to look at her. She giggled quietly.

"Librarararuns are awesome! 'Spech'ly you!"

I turned to the others.

"She's drunk." I wondered why Sicily would be in this state, but I couldn't think of anything right then. It was completely unnatural for her, and I had a feeling nothing good could come of it.

"But why would Sicily do this?" Willow asked, voicing my own thoughts. "I didn't think she was one of those sorts of people."

Xander headed to the table and pointed at the bottle.

"Well, it's not like it's beer or anything. What the hell is 'saganto' anyway?"

"Sangrantino. One of Umbria's native and most ancient varietals with features of great polyphenolic complexity. It speaks a harmonious and balanced language. Due to its bold tannins it is an excellent compliment to red meat roasts, game, venison, or in civet, sharp and aged cheeses. If suitably stored, it has a very long aging potential." We all looked at Oz as he calmly recited his information. Apparently our query was evident on our faces for he soon shrugged. "I get around."

"But still," Willow said after she'd recovered. "Wine doesn't normally do this to you."

"I'm told it has high alcohol content for wine. Plus, she did drink the whole bottle."

"Oi, you." Sicily once more began to speak. She pointed a wavering finger at Xander. "My wine. Put it down. Down. Doooooooowwwwn." The subject of her glare willingly cooperated. "Good boy. Here's a reward!" She then proceeded to smack the heel of her palm into her left eye, restarting her giggling as she did so. We backed away to confer more privately.

"Giles, what are we going to do? Sicily's meant to be teaching my class in," Willow quickly checked her watch, "six minutes. She can't do it like that!"

I paused, deliberating what course of action we should take.

"Oz, you have a free period next right? Good. You stay here and look after Miss Russo. I'll take Willow and Xander and teach their class. It shouldn't be too hard, as long as Principal Snyder doesn't walk past the classroom. Alright then? Let's go."

With that Oz returned to the substitute teacher and we exited the library, making our ways down the halls quickly and on the lookout for the Principal. Soon we had reached the classroom, but upon looking in found that the lesson had already started, and someone talking from the front of the room. Someone who was _definitely_ not a teacher.

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><p><strong>3<strong>**rd**** Person POV**

"Seeeeth! Have you finished your ice cream?"

"Yeah."

"Seeeeeeeeth! I'm bored!"

"What do you want to do then Tanny?"

"Well I don't know. That's why I told you!"

"Um…" Seth quickly looked around at his surroundings, hoping that something – anything – could give him an idea. His eyes soon chanced upon a play park that was partially hidden by a bunch of trees.

"Hey, Tanny, there's a park over there."

"YAAAAAAYYYY!" and the girl was off. Seth jogged over as Tanny plonked herself on the swings and began to go higher and faster and higher and faster and higher and … you get the idea. She soon got bored of that and flung herself off as she reached the highest point, before scampering to the top of the slide and, well, slid down it. Not one second passed before she was off again, this time making her way to the play frame.

Tanny sped up the netting and across the bridge to the higher tower-thingy. But she didn't stop there, like she should've. Instead Tanny did what any child would try to do and climbed up onto the pointed roof. She balanced at the tip perfectly, looking out at the surroundings.

"I'm the queen of the caaastleee~~," she sang. "Oh look! There's a big building over there! Really big! Can we visit it?"

"I suppose so…"

"YAY! Seth, catch me!"

The poor boy could hardly get out a small "Wait!" before Tanny launched herself off of the play frame and toward him. Before he knew it he was flat on his back with the pink-haired girl sitting on top of him and giggling.

Tanny jumped up again and without any regard to her friend began to skip toward the building she had seen. Seth groaned and sat up, rubbing the back of his head where he'd hit it. Standing, he dusted himself off.

"Wait for me!" he shouted once again, before chasing after the girl. At the speed she had set it didn't take them long to arrive at their destination. They walked up the steps and halted, looking up at the arched stone façade. A few people with bags and textbooks were milling about, but slowly decreasing in number as they entered the building. Above the main doors was a sign saying 'Sunnydale High School'. Tanny drifted forward in awe.

"Wow…" she whispered, quiet for once. "Look at this Seth…"

"What is it?" he asked, stepping closer.

"A SCHOOL!" Tanny shouted, making Seth jump backward with his ears a-ringing.

"Ow, Tanny!"

"Let's go inside!"

Yet again the boy was forced to chase after the girl as she made a beeline for the doors. She peeked through them, then headed straight in. The quantity of students grew less as they walked through the halls, earning themselves a few strange looks on the way. Seth kept glancing around until he could take it no longer and whispered,

"Maybe we should leave? I don't think we're meant to be here."

At that moment a member of staff rounded the corner and spotted them.

"Hey! You!" The middle aged woman ran toward them. Seth froze in place, but Tanny just smiled and waved. Soon the lady had reached them and she brushed a stray piece of hair from her eyes.

"They told me about you," she said to Tanny. "Bright hair, really young. You must be the substitute teacher, right?" She put out her hand. Seth was about to correct the lady, saying that they were sorry for trespassing, but his friend got there before him. She took the lady's hand, shook it, and said,

"Yes, you're right! I am the new teacher! But I don't really know where I'm teaching. Could you help me?"

The staff member relaxed at Tanny' light voice and smiled back at her.

"Of course. I figured you'd gotten lost when you didn't turn up to the lesson. I don't know what the Principal was thinking, leaving you without a map. Follow me then." She turned and went back the way she came, still unknowingly holding Tanny's hand.

A couple of corridors away the lady left them outside a classroom door. Seth stopped Tanny before she could go in.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "I don't think you can teach…"

"But I've always wanted to be a teacher!" Tanny replied, extremely loudly.

"Uh, I think you need qualifications or something."

"Really? What's a qualification?"

"Kind of like a certification to say you can teach."

"No worries then! I have a certificate right here!" and so saying she reached into the tiny pink bag she was carrying and pulled out a tattered sheet of yellowing paper. She proudly handed it over to Seth, who read it with a confused expression.

"Tanny, why do you have a birth certificate? Anna Abbotts? This isn't even yours! And it's from 1838! What's going on?"

Seth never got his question answered because his friend had already entered the classroom and was facing the students. She grinned and waved at them.

"Hi! I' your new teacher! My name is Tanara Zyphren, but you can call me Tanny! And this is my teaching assistant." She hurried back to the doorway and grabbed Seth's arm, pulling him into the room. "My teaching assistant, Seth Awesomely-Epic-Cool-Amazing-Great-Wonderful-Sexy-B etterThanAnyoneElse-Rabbit. That's Mr AECAGWSBTAER for short."

Seth looked at the class of seniors, and they looked back with a mixture of sceptical, interested and bored faces. He gave them a tentative smile.

"Hi."

"Alriiight! Down to business! What am I supposed to be teaching you?"

The number of sceptical looks increased, but one helpful student answered.

"English monarchy, Miss."

"Oh goody! Let's do Henry VIII then! Always a good place to start! Now, can anybody tell me how many wives he had? You." She pointed to someone at the back.

"Six wives."

"That's right! Well done!" she clapped her hands in applause. "But I bet you never knew he was going to have a seventh wife! It's true! He really was!" Her face went dark as she muttered, "Glad I got out of that one."

Silence reigned.

The Tanny smiled again and the atmosphere returned to what it had been.

"Okay, enough about my narrow escape when Henry died. Let's move on to – Hey, are you listening?" Tanny's gaze fell upon one male sat by the window. "Hellooo? Anybody home?" he continued to look outside absentmindedly. The 'substitute's' eyes narrowed.

Before Seth could stop her Tanny had picked up the closest textbook and thrown it at the student. It sailed through the air gracefully, before hitting the back of his head, which then hit the glass with a loud _clonk!_ His head snapped around and he met the stare of the irritated 8th grader.

"Something just sounded hollow, and I don't think it was the book. Paying attention now?" the student nodded fervently whilst rubbing the back of his head. There were a few titters of laughter from the class.

"Excuse me. I don't think you're slowed to do that," said a voice from behind Tanny. Giles stood in the doorway.

"Oh, hello. Is there something I can do for you?" Tanny asked in her best teacher impersonation. Giles had been thrown by her strange behaviour, but he quickly made corrections to his plan.

"Yes. Willow has been asked to take you to the office. Don't worry; I'll look after the students for you. "

"Aaaww, really? Sorry everyone. I've got to go. Come on Seth." Once again she grabbed his arm and pulled him, this time to outside the classroom. Willow – catching on to Giles plan – led them to the library. Xander followed behind them as Tanny skipped along. They finally reached the book house and the doors swung open.

There was a flash and Tanny disappeared, releasing Seth's arm.

"MMMMIIIIIIIIAAAAAAA!" she screamed as she launched herself at the unfortunate Maria, who had been calmly sitting and checking the status of her guns. Sicily was gone; presumably Oz had moved her to the office. Maria caught sight of Seth and he smiled in greeting. She looked back to the pink chihuahua yipping in excitement at her presence, before sighing.

"I found Tanny."

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><p><strong>There you go. Over and done with. Sorry if you feel I'm adding too many characters, but there are still more. :3<strong>

**In future, I'll try to update quicker. I say, expect me to take ages and then be pleasantly surprised if I don't.**

**Thank you.**


	7. More!

**Sorry for taking so long again -_-**

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><p><strong>7: More?<strong>

**3****rd**** Person PoV**

The sign had read 'Welcome to Sunnydale'. He snorted again as he thought of it. The name of this town was directly contradicting the actual weather, which had taken a drastic turn for the worse and was dark and cloudy; downright horrible. At least it fit his mood.

The boy was fuming with anger. That Seth – how dare he take away _his_ Tanny? Take her away like some noble knight on a white steed rescues the amazing, beautiful princess. It wasn't fair – that was his job! He was really, _really_ furious.

This, my readers, is Jacob.

Simply put, he is a guy of volatile temperament. Under normal circumstances he is nice to be around and have a chat with, as well as being instantly recognisable from his bright red hair. He plays guitar too, quite a desirable factor these days (or so I'm told).

Oh, and for some reason he is convinced Seth is gay. Not the sharpest tool in the box.

Jacob prowled down the hallways, carefully following the scents that he recognised. Masked by many other people they might be, but still strong enough. He could tell he was less that ½ a day behind the blue-pink pair. Jacob longed to eat the bread roll he'd 'borrowed' but he knew his progress would just be hindered. He decided to save it for when he found Tanny, as a celebratory reward.

The cinnamon smell grew stronger as it led him to a pair of doors with circular windows. Jacob peeked through at the group inside, opening the door just a crack so that he could hear.

"Mia, do you want to play a game?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Please?"

"…no."

"Awwwwww…Seth? Will you play?"

_Say no, say no_, Jacob hissed mentally.

"Um, sorry Tanny. I'm not in the mood right now."

Jacob nodded, pleased with Seth's answer. But then Xander walked over to Tanny, patting her on the head.

"I'll play with you. What game?" Jacob's eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed. _I will not let him do this to her!_

A loud _crack!_ resounded as his fist connected with Xander's face. The shocked victim's head snapped left as he tumbled to the ground with little grace. Jacob snaked his arm around Tanny's waist and pulled her close to him.

"Stay away from my girl, you bastard," he spat. Turning to the rosette in his hold he gently asked if she was ok. Tanny pouted.

"Xander was going to play with me. What did you hit him for?"

"Sorry…" His head sank in shame.

Across the room Maria sighed, muttering, "And another one appears."

Xander tenderly touched his jaw and winced. Seth hurried over, hoping that his new friend was alright as he knew full well that Jacob wasn't the best at controlling his strength when angered. Lending a helping hand, Xander was pulled to his feet and then sat at the table. Seth made his way to the librarian's office to fetch an ice pack, giving the embracing couple a wide berth.

"But are you really _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yes! Other than missing you of course."

"I missed you too Tanny. You need to stop running off like that; who will protect you if I'm not around?"

"Don't be silly. You know I can defend myself."

"AHEM."

The conversation was interrupted by Xander, who was shooting foul glares at the red-head.

"So when are you going to introduce your needlessly violent friend to us?"

Untangling herself from Jacob's arms Tanny grinned and presented him.

"This is Jake, my very cute boyfriend!" she then bounced up to the tip of her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek. His face flushed red in embarrassment.

Seth returned with the ice pack, which he placed on Xander's jaw and told him to hold it there. Jacob watched his actions, dismissing his previous suspicions of Seth wanting Tanny. After all, no straight man would take so much care of another guy, right?

The blue-haired boy turned to face Jacob, a mildly curious expression on his face.

"So why are you here?" he asked. Maria sighed again and put down the stake she was sharpening.

"Obviously, he followed Tanny like I did." Seth nodded in understanding.

At that moment the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. It wasn't long before Giles arrived, having let out his students a few minutes early. He stopped in the doorway when he saw the new arrival, his eyes flicking to the other occupants of the room. From their demeanours he could tell that Jacob was not an enemy, and could also make an educated guess about why he was there. Giles sighed and entered the room, Buffy right behind him – she had also been let out slightly early. Jacob studied them, before taking hold of Tanny's wrist and pulling her further into the library and away from view. Xander made to follow them but Maria held him back. They didn't want to be disturbed right now.

"Why is it full of people with strange hair in here?" Cordelia asked. She had just arrived, seeing the departure of the couple. "What have I missed?"

"Oh, not much. Just a lot of craziness," Willow replied. It _had_ been weird. Four more young teenagers had been added to the group in less than a day. But what could you expect? This was the Hellmouth after all.

Cordelia joined Willow and a still disgruntled Xander at the table.

"Well, enough about them. Aren't you going to ask how my date was?"

"Um, ok…"

"It was wonderful! His name is Darrell, and he's really hot! He just got out of a relationship that lasted, like, _forever_, and I was the first person he went for a date with since. It was so sweet!"

"You really like him, huh?" Xander said (still irritated).

"Yes I do. He gave me his number, so I can call him whenever I want." Cordelia looked at him. "What happened to your face?"

"He got punched by a 14-year-old," Willow replied when Xander failed to do so.

The conversation lapsed for a while, everybody sitting in silence; no one could think of something worthwhile to talk about. Luckily Jacob and Tanny returned to break the tense atmosphere. The boy looked at Xander.

"Sorry," he grunted, clearly not feeling apologetic in the slightest.

* * *

><p><strong>Buffy's PoV<strong>

Night had fallen, the moon rising and ordinary humans gone to bed. I sighed and swung my axe up to settle on my shoulder. The rest of the day had gone quickly, spent getting to know the newcomers better, but it was tiring to deal with so many kids. Now though, time seemed to be going too slowly as I patrolled with only Willow by my side. The eighth-graders were also patrolling in groups in the cemetery to cover more ground (although Seth was actually only in seventh grade).

"So, what do you think about the new people?" Willow asked to break the silence hanging between us.

"A bit weird. There's no end to them, is there?"

"Jacob and Tanny are sweet though. Don't you think it's cute too Buffy?"

I nodded. The conversation died again and my thoughts were left to their own devices as the minutes slugged past. Of course, they wandered over to Angel. I was slightly jealous of Tanny and Sicily; both of them had boyfriends that they got on with easily. Why couldn't I have that? Even Cordelia had hooked up with a nice guy (though something still seemed fishy to me). Sure, I was the Slayer, but didn't I have a right to a normal, healthy relationship? Knowing Giles, he'd probably still say 'no'.

"Hey Buffy, what's that?" Willow's voice defied the silence once more as she spotted something. She pointed to a moving shape in the sky that was heading in our direction. As it came closer we began to be able to make out wings and a tail. And generally, anything with a tail is bad news.

I dropped my axe and took the crossbow that was slung over my back and strung a bolt to it. Aiming carefully I released the projectile, striking the flying figure on one of the wing joints. A loud roar was emitted; primal, guttural, inhuman. The creature began to spiral out of control, quickly losing height before crashing to the ground barely 100 metres away from us. The impact shook the ground, rattling the tombstones and even causing some to fall. I could tell this thing was dangerous.

Grabbing my axe from the ground I approached cautiously, waiting for the dust to settle so I could see what I was up against. The obstruction soon faded enough for me to see the form of a young girl with silver hair tied into a high ponytail and white leathery wings sprouting from her back. The left of these snapped away, disappearing from view. The other began to follow suit but spasmed halfway as the bolt lodged in it disrupted the muscle movement. The girl hissed in pain, turning her burning gaze to me. Her eyes were alight with a dangerous fire as they narrowed over cat-like pupils.

"Ugh," came from my mouth at the initial shock, but I quickly overcame it and prepared for a fight. This was one hell of a demon.

I lunged forward and swiped at her with my blade, only to have it deflected by an armoured tail which then proceeded to lash out at me. A simple jump back to get out of range was enough to give my friend time to act.

"Buffy, duck!"

I did as told and another bolt from my dropped crossbow shot overhead. The spiked tail whipped up to stop it from reaching its target. Taking advantage of this I zipped under the limb and instead aimed for the wing. Or rather, the original bolt still stuck there. Grabbing the shaft I forced it further into the muscle and down until it hit bone. Another roar from the demon as I jumped back out of the way, landing with my knees bent and ready to run as necessary.

Pain exploded in my side, forcing me to my knees at the surprise. I lifted my shirt to see what had happened and saw a light scratch surrounded by angry red and blistering skin. I muttered a curse and glance up at my opponent. The demon was holding a short dagger in her hand surrounded by wicked looking silver flames. No. _Made_ from flames. This was what had caused my burn.

The fire began to writhe faster, morphing and twisting upon itself until the weapon had changed completely. The demon now stood with a bow and soon added an arrow to it. She pulled back in one flawless motion, ready to shoot.

"WAIT!"

She jumped in surprise, releasing the arrow. It went wide, missing its target and hitting a nearby tree instead, which was soon consumed by flames and turned to ash. If it hadn't been for the shout I would have gotten skewered.

My saviour came into view – Seth. Following him was Maria and Tanny. Good. Reinforcements to help me fight the demon, even if they were kids. I staggered to my feet again, ready for the next round of the fight. Seth reached where I was …. and kept on running past, straight for my opponent. What was he doing? He'd get killed facing her alone!

He stopped right in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked gently. The demon's eyes flicked to her wing, back to Seth and then to the ground.

"I have fewer wounds than expected against such a foe," she replied aloofly.

"Let me take a look at it." The blue haired boy headed for her wing but she quickly moved it out of his reach, even though it leaked more blood because of the movement, staining it crimson. Tanny rushed past to help Seth and began chasing the limb around in circles.

I was distracted from the bizarre scene by a cool feeling on my side. Maria had placed her hands over my burn, and there was a layer of chilled water between my skin and her palms. Willow joined us.

"Why are they so friendly with a vicious demon?" I asked. I didn't understand. Maria looked up at me.

"Chaz isn't a demon. She's a dragon, and you picked the fight." She removed her hands and the water soaked into my skin, the cool sensation remaining. Maria proceeded to the where the demon … dragon … was located in a standoff with the other two kids. She walked right by them and to Chaz, who briefly debated before letting Maria help her without a hitch. The bolt was soon removed, the wound washed and bound with a long length of bandages from Seth's portable first-aid kit that he was carrying.

The dragon slowly pulled her wing in, careful to make sure the wound wasn't pulled. It soon disappeared, along with the spiked tail that had been lazily waving about behind her. The fire in her eyes faded too, and her tied hair began to look more light grey than silver.

"We should meet up with Giles and the others," Willow said to me. I nodded and we simply left, knowing that the young teenagers would be able to follow us easily.

* * *

><p><strong>Mystery PoV<strong>

I leant back against the tree, watching the scene from the shadows. Not one of them was aware of my presence. They all looked so carefree and happy to see each other. A light chuckle escaped my lips.

This was going to be fun.

* * *

><p><strong>Michi is here. Would you like to say a few words?<strong>

**Michi: helloh howoh areoh youoh imoh fineoh andoh thinkoh jacoboh needsoh angeroh managementoh :)**

**So true. Please review~**


	8. The Mall Will Never Be Mentioned Again

**I'm actually uploading this from school, as the strange login system thingy won't wok at home :0**

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><p><strong>8: The Mall Will Never be Mentioned Again<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

"More? What is going on here? It was bad enough with just one of them, and now there's six!" Cordelia's voice grated on my ears as she complained. After the fight with Chaz had finished our separate groups had soon reunited into one mass of strange people.

"There's a reason for that you know," Maria replied. "We tend to gather in one place." Cordy snorted.

"What, some mystical magic demon thing bringing you lot together? Is there even something like that?"

Maria just looked at her. Seth glanced at her before nervously stepping forward.

"Um, in case you forgot, were not exactly normal people…"

"Yup! That's right!" Tanny added.

Giles and I waited for further explanation whilst Cordelia raised a sceptical eyebrow (and Xander glared at Jacob, who glared back in turn). Tanny continued.

"Weeelllll…. I'm a Zyphrenian!" Blank looks must have covered our faces because Tanny looked disappointed. "I'm an alien," she said, to help us understand. I could feel my eyes widening at just those words. Demons and stuff, I could handle. But I'd never encountered an alien before.

Tanny's grin return as she saw our surprised faces.

"Yeah! And Seth, Mia and Jake are all wolves!"

"Water," Maria commented.

"Fire," grunted Jacob, rather reluctantly.

"Um… I'm not entirely sure what sort I am. Just a wolf I suppose."

"Technically, you are all lycanthropes, as wolves are not your original forms." This came from the newest addition to the kids, Chaz. I could already tell that this was some uptight know-it-all and felt pretty sure we wouldn't get on too well.

"Oh, and Chaz here is a dragon!"

"I am a half dragon actually. I will ask you not to forget this in the future." Yup. Annoying.

Tanny pouted. Giles opened his mouth to ask a question.

"Then is your school all for people like you?" He sounded quite interested in where they had come from

"Yes," Maria replied as Tanny was still throwing a silent tantrum. "We find it difficult to fit in with the outside world because we're generally stronger and more intellectual than humans. Take Tanny as an example. She may look like a fool, but she's 954 years old. She's picked up a lot of knowledge. Just no common sense." The last sentence was muttered almost inaudibly.

"And what about Sicily? She said something about supposed to have been in UH but was in SH…" How Giles could remember that I had no idea. Was it really only a day since Miss Russo had told us everything? There was something going on here that I didn't like.

"She's a special case. Sicily is–"

"I am human. I just happen to be a psychic too." The Italian herself was strolling toward us across the flat ground with Oz following close behind. She wore a warm smile, and no trace of her earlier state was visible. Oz headed to Willow, who then asked,

"Are you alright Miss Russo? You didn't seem quite right this morning…" Trust Will to skirt around the subject.

"Do you mean when I was drunk?" Sicily replied, completely ignoring my friend's delicacy. "Nothing was wrong with me, I just really like a good wine. And it was also Italian so it had added bonus. I tried to wait for you to share it, but I think you saw how well that turned out." Her smile widened. "I'm sorry if I caused any unnecessary worry."

"No, no, it's quite alright," Giles said. "I just wish you hadn't been drunk in my library."

"Again, I'm sorry. I received a call from Tino before I drank anything, telling me that Jacob and Chaz would arrive soon…" she glanced around. "..but I guess I'm a bit late for that, huh?"

She turned to me.

"Do you have something you'd like to say?"

I scowled slightly. I did have something to say to my 'teacher'.

"What are you doing? Why does everyone seem to accept things the way they are? Even I'm doing it! And when you'd just met us you blurted out everything to do with you straight away. Weren't you afraid we'd use the information against you? And another thing. Snyder would _never_ let a child teach, even if you had qualifications. So just tell me; _what is it that you are doing to us_?" My whole quarrel with Sicily came out at once in a torrent of words. Any large effect or impact I'd been aiming for was lost though, as she just smiled pityingly, like she had already known what I was going to say.

"It's a spell," was the simple answer. "But not a bad one. Just something that protects our students and the school's island from outside influences."

"So what does it do?" Giles asked, still calm despite my rant.

"As Buffy put it, the spell makes you accept things the way they are. Another way to say it is…" she pondered briefly on a different explanation that would hopefully make her meaning clearer to Xander and Cordelia, who were both looking confused. "…you don't notice us. So that burnt tree from Chaz way over there?"

I looked in the direction she pointed and noticed few wisps of smoke still rising from the ashen remains of the plant.

"Instead of being arson, or some other news story, ordinary residents will just walk past with ne'er an inkling that something was out of place."

"I… kind of get that…"

Sicily smiled again, but this time it seemed to give off an aura of sadness rather than warmth.

"It also means you won't remember us when we're gone."

And with that she turned to go, her school friends following without a glance back. We were finished here and they knew it. I tried to recall everything I knew about them, but I realised that I couldn't actually remember meeting Sicily for the first time. What had happened? What did I say? I was already forgetting.

And it scared me.

* * *

><p><strong>Angel's POV<strong>

I climbed out of the sewers and into a large house. The windows had been boarded up and the interior walls that weren't supporting the upper floors knocked down to create a larger space for the inhabitants. Who just happened to be a group of vampires, the first of which soon getting a stake to his heart.

Another vamp came to the top of the stairs. I leapt up and twisted his head until it clicked, all before he could utter a single warning to his fellows. I worked through the rest of the rooms upstairs, dusting any other blood suckers I came across. There was a brief moment when my life was in mild danger, but only because one of the bedrooms had an open window and the sunlight had been streaming in. I quickly left that place behind.

It was a shame. I'd followed a lead that the vampires here knew something about the Gjraael demon, but not one of them would tell me anything. From the smell of things there was one more. I didn't hold much hope that he would be of help.

I found him in the kitchen, hiding behind the counter. Grabbing him by the collar I dragged him into the air. His clothes were fairly new and clean; someone who'd just been changed. His eyes widened the moment his feet left the floor and he stopped struggling. Instead he croaked out,

"You're… with Buffy right? She wants to know about Gjraael-man?"

"What's it to you?"

"Buffy gets on well with me. I could–" he gulped as my fist tightened with impatience, "I could go tell her what I know…"

"And just what do you get out of it?"

"Mate, Buffy's my _friend_. And you don't kill me here."

I debated briefly, then lowered him to the ground. I released my grip on his shirt.

"If I find out you haven't told her…" I gave my best threatening glare.

"You'll stake me. Got it," he concluded as he rubbed the back of his sore neck. Then, keeping his eyes on me all the way, he backed off to the sewer entrance and ducked into it.

I sighed. This was the best I could do for Buffy right now.

* * *

><p><strong>Chaz's POV<strong>

I do not know whose clever idea it was, but it was imbecilic. Which means it was probably Tanny's. Allow me to tell you what happened.

It was the day after I arrived, the Friday. As such it was a school day, and Mr. Giles recommended that the UH students amuse themselves outside of the school premises during lesson time. Quite rightfully too. My classmates do have the habit of causing trouble for other people. We agreed readily, and then the idea was suggested that we get to know the town better … by shopping.

Yes. It was definitely Tanny's idea. None of us were insane enough to propose that.

The mall was a bustling multi-levelled area with smooth white walls, pleasing to the eye. Civilians casually chattered away with right smiles as the glass-panelled roof let sunlight shine through. A lively scene with – thankfully – few shadows.

We stood in a circle at the centre of the mall. Maria glanced at each of us in turn as she spoke.

"Alright. Go do whatever for two hours, then meet back here at 12:45 for lunch. We'll decide what happens after that then. Got it?"

"Yup."

"Yes~"

"Yeah…"

"Affirmative."

"Good. Now, you all know what I'm going to say. Don't–"

"Destroy too much stuff! Got it!" Tanny finished, an inexplicable smile on her face. She promptly skipped away, and it wasn't long before she was bothering a couple and their young child. I hold sympathetic feelings for all of the pink creature's victims.

"Actually, I was going to say 'don't destroy anything', but I guess that works too," Maria muttered to herself before heading off to the 'soccer' supply store. Jacob left too, only to follow Tanny instead of peruse through wares.

For a while I observed the events on the boxes with moving portraits, many of them lined up behind a glass wall. They were strange devices, and it was fascinating to view them. There hadn't been anything like this at the mansion.

"What're you watching?"

My heart skipped a beat as Seth's voice sounded by my right ear. He stood a pace behind me with that innocently curious expression he has. I turned away from him quickly so as to not meet his eyes.

"I… it appears to be information upon life inhabiting the oceans. I am unaware as to its specific title."

"Cool," he said in response.

We remained there for another hour's sixth. I would have moved before that length of time but I could not make myself stir. As it was we watched the boxes in silence whilst many civilians passed by.

It was then that the commotion began. Seth and I both looked up at the same time as there was a loud squealing. A giggle resonated throughout the building and Seth groaned as he recognised the frequency of the sound.

"Helloooo peoples~~~!" Tanny had clearly found some equipment with which to amplify her voice on a large scale. Now everyone could hear the infuriating noise and many stopped to look around for the source.

"Hey! Chaz! Seth! Hiii~~!" A door opened 72 yards from our location and the pink pest exited from it, grinning and waving. In her hands she held a peculiar item of a cuboid base with a stalk in the centre. A long, thin tail snaked from it and along the floor, disappearing into the ominous shadows behind the doorway Tanny had emerged from.

"Are you two having fun over there? You're watching fish! Awesome!"

Shouts came from our left and the murmuring of the crowd increased. Civilians speedily moved to the walls in order to let four burly soldiers through. These men each wore the same uniform that announced them as 'SECURITY'. They hurtled toward Tanny who just giggled once more. There was a loud _BOOM_ as she dropped the object she held and then proceeded to back flip away from the guards. Vain attempts were made to capture her, but she continued to evade arrest through means of various acrobatic and aerodynamic manoeuvres. There was a moment when one of the men had gained a hold on Tanny's shoulder, but it didn't last long.

There was something akin to a blur as Jacob shot toward the man, barrelling him to the ground. He then began to beat the guard black and blue with his hands and feet both, all the while shouting obscene profanities. Tanny was abandoned as the struggle to apprehend the red-haired fiend took place. The girl laughed and started tapping each of the guards and then skipping backward as they grabbed for her.

The murmurs became cries of shock as the onlookers saw the extent of Jacob's violence. Several courageous males helped to pull him off of the now unconscious soldier, but the redhead simply turned on them, now using his fists freely and even drawing unrelated bystanders into the fight. It was a frankly appalling brawl with none of the etiquette and pride I preferred in my battles. Even the Buffy-woman had fought using underhanded methods, pulling the bolt and injuring my wing so. However, I did admire her ability to assess the weaknesses in my defence and her skill to make use of the knowledge.

Seth skittered slightly, his desire to end the fight apparent on his face. I too grew bored of the spectacle, but did not have time to act upon it as the battle was halted by another.

There was a _bang!_ and the civilians and guards all ducked to the floor in prompt response. Maria walked on scene, bang-death-weapon in hand and held high. A strange weapon, but from what I had seen it was dangerous even to me.

Maria stared intently at something before frowning and lowering the weapon. Then one of the civilian women began to scream, and soon many were shouting and clamouring to get to the nearest exit. Jacob took advantage of the confusion to cause meaningless destruction, fuelled by blind rage. Seth could hold back no more and rushed to his comrade's side to calm him, getting swept into the flow of ordinary humans in the process. I stepped forward to catch hold of him and pull him from the mass. He smiled gratefully, and I released him hastily.

Across the floor Maria appeared to flinch, and she quickly raised her bang-death-weapon again, firing several times at an unknown target. This time, instead of hitting the wall she struck a strange-power-light which emitted sparks, one of which landed upon a bed in the sleep-shop the strange-power-light was situated in. the spark caught and a small fire began to burn, speedily spreading across the linen and growing in size.

As fire does, it consumed all it could, transferring to other items and soon growing to a huge size. Maria came to her senses and ran to Tanny, grabbing her wrist. Jacob reacted instantly, turning on his turquoise-haired comrade to protect the pink one. Maria simply struck him over the head, returning his mind to him. Jacob glanced around in surprise at the wrecked building. He exchanged brief words with Maria and Tanny, then the three of them ran to the exit.

Out of the blue Seth seized my hand and dragged me along with him. When I had gotten over the brief initial shock I too ran with all of my power, and soon I was the one towing Seth behind me. We hurtled through the strange-power-doorway and to the other side of the street where the remainder of our party awaited us. We stopped and Seth gasped to return air to his lungs; when he had done so he looked at Maria curiously.

"Why did you fire?"

Maria had her eyes fixed on the mall as she replied.

"I thought I saw…" she paused, "… never mind. It doesn't matter."

Jacob laughed heartily.

"Well, at least the building is still _there_, eh?"

Tanny gasped dramatically and pointed at her lover accusingly.

"Jake! You jinxed us!"

"Oh come on. You can't get jinxed with just–"

Fire spewed and a cacophonous din sounded as the mall exploded. I blinked as the others defended themselves from the shock and heat waves. Maria glared at Jacob.

"You were saying?"

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><p><strong>There we go. I will be taking up the login issue with the peoples who run this site. And Cammy, would you like to say something?<strong>

**Cammy: heeeeeeyyyyyyyyyy my amazingly amazing best friend ;)**

**Yay! I am a hair extension!**

**~Please review~**


	9. You Beat the Beast

**Simple reason for the eons taken: exams.**

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><p><strong>9: You Beat the Beast<strong>

**Jeff's POV**

"So you blew up the mall! Did it even occur to you that that might be dangerous?"

"No one was hurt."

"Besides the point!"

The chattering in the hallway was coming closer. I was uncomfortable, skittering in my desire to run from the library. But if I didn't do this then I'd _definitely _end up staked. Not an option. I cursed myself for getting tangled up with that massive demon; he'd only brought me bad luck. If I'd just left town instead of hanging around…

"Jeff!"

A grand hoard of people was bottlenecked in the doorway with Buffy at the front. I flashed a piece of paper frantically.

"White flag! Don't hurt me!" They didn't seem inclined to follow this advice, so I backed it up with my reason for being there. "I know where the Gjraael is! I came here to tell you!"

That made them stop in their tracks, though they were still poised with stakes in hands.

"So you're saying to trust you, a vampire?" the librarian said. I didn't know him very well.

"Well, yeah. You don't have any other leads, right?" The looks exchanged between them confirmed what I'd said. They slowly lowered their weapons as I did the same with my paper, filing in and lining the edges of the room until I couldn't run anywhere without getting close to one of them. There were twelve of them in all, half I recognised and the others I didn't. The latter seemed young, and all had peculiar hair. But they were of no concern.

"Tell us what you know," Buffy said, "or I'll run this straight through your heart." She brandished her stake and I gulped.

"Well, I joined this group of vamps – safety in numbers, you know? – and the demon came not long after. He asked us to kill a load of people and we agreed."

The librarian narrowed his eyes.

"I still don't see why we need you. We'll find him anyway."

"Yeah, but you'd be too late. The plan was to do it tonight."

"Tell us where he is!" Xander demanded.

"I can't!" I snapped. "I don't know where to tell you he is! I can remember how to get there, but that's all."

Glances passed between them as I stood nervously with both my hands held up to show that I had no intent to fight. I could only assume that they were deciding whether to believe me, much less if they would.

There was a click from behind me and I turned to see a girl holding a gun, aimed at me. Another girl with pink hair said,

"Take us to your leader."

Everyone looked at her in disbelief. She grinned, breaking the tense atmosphere.

"I've always wanted to say that!"

From the looks on the younger faces I could tell that this behaviour was normal to them. I wasn't too sure what to make of it. Did she not realise how serious the situation was?

"Tanny," the girl with the gun scolded, "you can't use these kinds of problems to fulfil your own wishes." The pink haired girl pouted. A boy with blue hair gave me an apologetic look.

"Sorry about her. She tends to ignore the significance of things."

"Seth! It doesn't care how much you like them, you shouldn't make friends with guys on the enemy's side!" another boy said.

"I think it's a nice trait of his," a girl with dreadlocks commented. My eyes flickered to the final girl, expecting her to speak next, but she just glared at me until I looked away again. On the opposite side of the room the librarian was becoming visibly more annoyed.

"ENOUGH," he said forcefully, silencing the mindless chatter. "We are facing a serious matter here and it is NOT the time to discuss trivial things. Now you Jeffery," he faced me, "take us to where Lell is."

I nodded, just as incapable of speech as the rest of the people in the room. They grabbed whatever weapons they wanted and when they were all satisfied with what they had we left. I quickly led them outside and through the streets to the darker side of town where less people lived and more 'things' hung about. I slowed slightly as I began to weave my way through a maze-like system of pathways in a warehouse complex. I halted in front of one with a battered and tattered metal grate for a door. I nudged it and the door swung open without a sound to reveal darkness.

"Gjraael-man will be in there somewhere. When you go in there's a main light switch on the wall directly to your right. You can't miss it, even in the dark." I provided helpful information that they would need. I skipped to the side as Buffy headed to the door cautiously.

"Wait."

**Buffy's POV**

I turned as Sicily called out to stop me.

"What is it?" Tanny hissed in a loud and pointless whisper. Sicily's eyes met mine as she looked at me pleadingly.

"You have to trust me. When you get inside ignore the light switch."

"Hey!" Jeff protested. "You won't be able to see!" She silenced him with a flick of her hand.

"Ignore the lights. Once you're inside move right as far as you can with your back against the wall until you are blocked by a crate. Crouch there. Wait for eighteen seconds exactly; that's how long it will take the rest of us to get in. With the exception of Chaz."

"Why not her?" Cordelia inquired.

"Chaz… isn't fond of dark places. She won't enter until the lights are on." It wasn't so much a reason as a simple statement of fact. But I wasn't really keen on the plan so far anyway.

"After those eighteen seconds have passed Seth will turn the lights on," the substitute teacher continued. Seth raised his hand in the air like an elementary school child does to ask a question.

"Um, I'm not good with time…"

"Don't worry. It's an accident." She smiled at him warmly. I didn't see how it being an accident made any difference yet apparently it comforted Seth. She turned back to me but I could tell she was addressing everyone. "When we fight, no matter what you think, attack Lell's left-hand side. Got it?" A mumbled round of agreements came in response. Once more she faced Seth. "You're in charge of injuries."

"Yosh!" He lifted his chosen weapon from the floor – a medical kit.

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked.

"It's the least dangerous of the futures."

"Right." I was still a bit sceptical but it was probably the best course of action. I'm sure Sicily knew what she was talking about. I took a brief study of my companions and noticed that Jeff had disappeared. He was probably going to skip town whilst we were busy, but he wasn't important right now.

I ducked through the door. Inside it was pitch black and I couldn't even see where I was placing my feet. I immediately reached my hand out for the wall; upon finding it I pressed my back to the cold surface and slid along it, right hand stretched out to feel the crate Sicily had mentioned. It didn't take long and I knelt beside the rough wood, wary of getting any splinters.

18….17….

A faint scuffling noise began as the rest of the group followed me in.

….16….15….14….

Someone crouched down right next to me. From the sound of their whispering I could tell it was Tanny.

….13….12….11….10….

It was either me or the air inside the warehouse was sucking the remaining heat from the axe in my hands. It was unsettling.

….9….8….7….6….

The whispering increased in volume until someone hissed at the others to quieten down.

….5…4….3….2….

A whispered "Ow!"

….1

The lights flashed on, blinding us all at the sudden change. Seth dropped down to his knees as Chaz darted inside. When I'd recovered my vision I could see a barricade of crates in front of us blocking our view of the rest of the building. My eyes darted to Sicily, four people along, in case she had further directions to give.

"You take it from here," she whispered.

I studied the crates around us, piled to different heights. Close to me was a section only one high so I scrambled up onto these, working my way toward the ceiling. I made sure that I was always behind a more elevated section so I wouldn't be seen by our enemy. When high enough I paused to get a proper look at our surroundings.

The warehouse stretched on as far as the eye could see, an optical illusion created from a combination of the flat roof and the crates which were stacked in neat rows but uneven heights. Thus the eye was automatically drawn to the disturbance in the logical pattern, an expanse in the middle of the warehouse where the concrete floor was visible. A ring of wooden wreckage showed that there had once been crates there too. Now only a demon stood in the space, glaring straight at the doorway and the light switch. If we had turned the lights on as soon as we entered then he would've caught us immediately. Thumbs up for the seer.

I motioned for the rest of the group to follow me, indicating that we should spread out for a better chance. This teamwork thing was coming a bit easier than usual, but even from the little I'd seen it was clear that the teamwork between the eight and seventh graders was on a whole other level. Except Chaz. She was a solitary fighter, I knew it. She had interacted with the others only a few times since we'd met, and even then only using one word sentences.

I moved in closer to the demon. He was an ugly thing, a brute well over seven foot tall with a face gnarled and pitted. A single thick horn sprouted from one side of his head and circled round like a crown. His grey skin was leathery except for on his left where it morphed into thick-looking plates - armour.

Hang on. Hadn't Sicily said to attack his left? But why, if that was the only part of him defended? I tried to make eye contact with the Italian but she didn't look my way. I could only trust her judgement, even if it seemed strange to me.

A message flashed between the UH students and they looked to me for instructions. I held up a hand and gave a brief countdown. We reached zero and leapt.

Jacob got there first, closing in to send rapid blows to the demon's midriff. Lell simply lifted a clawed hand and Jacob was flicked backward, smashing through rows of crates until he could no longer be seen. Seth rushed after him to help.

Tanny was there next, seemingly pushing the demon with magic or air or suchlike and aided by Willow casting spells from a distance. He stumbled slightly and the spry girl grinned before jumping impossibly high as he swiped at her. Instead of coming straight down to attack again she changed direction midair to get away in time for Maria and Giles to start shooting. Only a few bullets and crossbow bolts had been released when the weapons master pulled out a small object and ripped something from it with her teeth.

"Eyes and ears guys!" she yelled, spitting out whatever she'd pulled and throwing the object. As it coursed through the air I made out what it was and the significance of the shout. I slammed my hands on my ears and screwed my eyes shut just as it exploded.

When the disturbance from the flash/sound grenade had died down a little I opened my eyes, only to see Chaz already prepared and sparring with the dazed demon. She held him at bay with short bursts of fire, themselves not effective but distracting enough to keep him from seeing the tail she swung at him. One forceful strike had him on his knees and it was my turn.

I rushed forward and as I did so it occurred to me why we were attacking his left. It was obviously armoured because he had something to protect there. Probably his weakness. I needed to get that defence off and I did so by hacking at the plates, managing to disconnect the top of one from his skin. I dropped the axe, having no more need for it, and dug my fingers into the gap behind the armour. Lell bellowed as I pulled the plate off painfully slowly. I had no time to react when a muscled limb came crashing down on me.

Except it never hit. I glanced up to see Xander grinning down at me whilst shuddering under the force of the arm. The shadow of this appendage was removed from me as a recovered Jacob arrived to help Xander, the two of them working in sync and throwing the demon off balance. They each grabbed hold of an arm and yanked in the opposite direction I was.

Their gallantry inspired the rest of the team who all came and pulled in one direction or the other. Our combined strength speeded the process and the plate finally ripped off, sending us all tumbling backward in a chaotic mess. I scrambled to get up and attack the Lell's weak spot but someone got there before me.

The sound of rending flesh and the toppling of the demon announced his defeat. I rose from the ground to see Sicily holding the heart-like organ she had just torn from the gaping hole in Lell's left hand side – the hole once protected by armour. She smiled and presented it to me to take. My disgusted expression must have been noticed because she grinned more and threw the thing to Giles. I guess she knew him well enough to know he'd want to study it.

It was over.

"Ah, finally we can rest!" Jacob exclaimed, hands behind his head. Tanny sped over to hug him. Seth smiled in Chaz's direction but she hastily looked away.

"What now?" Maria asked.

"Back to the library," Cordelia said bluntly (in all honesty, I'd forgotten she was even there).

"Good idea," Giles agreed. I snatched my axe from the floor. We stood there a while, looking at each other, none of us quite sure who would go first. Willow sighed in impatience.

"Come on slow coaches, or we'll stay here forever!" She beamed and headed for the exit with Oz in tow. We all followed them out, Seth switching off the light as we exited. I was relaxed, relieved that it was finally all over. From the expressions on everyone else's faces they were feeling exactly the same way.

Then we froze. The sound of slow – but loud – measured claps reached our ears and our eyes drifted over to a van parked next to the warehouse. On top sat a man I'd never seen before, with a smirk on his face.

"Congratulations," he said. "You beat the beast."

The UH students reacted instantaneously, falling into defensive positions instead of their usual straightforward attack. Jacob cursed under his breath.

"Shit. It's Daarn."


	10. When the Day's Done  the Battle is Won

**I thought I'd be nice and update this, seeing as it's my birthday and all. My grandmother is amazing; to her, 'wrapping paper' means using dry wipes, a serviette and the upper half of the Eon energy flame thingy. Such a cool woman.**

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><p><strong>10: When the Day's Done and the Battle is Won<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

_The sound of slow – but loud – measured claps reached our ears and our eyes drifted over to a van parked next to the warehouse. On top sat a man I'd never seen before, with a smirk on his face. _

"_Congratulations," he said. "You beat the beast."_

_The UH students reacted instantaneously, falling into defensive positions instead of their usual straightforward attack. Jacob cursed under his breath._

"_Shit. It's Daarn."_

Cordelia frowned.

"Huh? What are you all scared of? It's just Darrell." Xander was looking lost.

"You know this dude?"

"Of course!" Cordelia huffed. "He's that really hot nice guy I had a date with a few days ago, the one that just got out of this super-long relationship." The man interrupted her.

"About that … I lied." Now Cordelia looked confused too.

"What?"

"I won't leave her, and she _can't _leave me," he laughed. "I only came here to play, but then my fiancée turns up too!"

"Fiancée?" Cordelia screeched. "You're engaged?"

"Yes," he shrugged.

"Darrell, you–" He cut in before she could finish whatever insult she was about to utter.

"I hate to break it to you doll, but my name isn't Darrell. Why don't you ask these guys who I am?" He gestured to the UH students. "I believe Jacob has already introduced me."

The red-haired boy growled in anger and annoyance, Maria's eyes narrowing at the same time.

"This is Daarn. He's half dragon, half jerk," she said.

My gaze flickered to Chaz who was standing stock still with her focus on the ground before her. So this guy, Daarn, was the same as her. A dangerous enemy.

"Maria, your fierceness makes you more beautiful," he said with mirth adorning his features.

"You should know that your sugar-coated words don't work on me," the weapons master replied.

"But it's always worth a try." He moved to stand, simply stepping off of the van's roof and landing silently on the ground. He sauntered forward, eyes fixing on Willow. He drew close to her. "Your hair is a most precious hue," he purred, lifting a lock of it to his lips. Oz's hand shot out and gripped Daarn's arm to stop him. The black-clothed man slowly released the hair and Oz's arm relaxed. As soon as it had Daarn swept his arm sideways and Oz was sent flying. He crashed into the warehouse wall and slumped down, unconscious, a trickle of blood emerging from beneath his hair and running down his skin. Willow darted away to check if he was alright.

"One down, ten to go. Who's next?" Daarn turned to us.

"What do you want you sick bastard?" Jacob growled.

"My woman."

"NO!" The shout came from Seth, his hands in fists and a furious glare on his face. Even he was riled up for once. In fact, looking around at the other kids, they all had serious expressions on. Just what did this man mean to them?

My arm was nudged and I leaned closer to hear what Giles was trying to tell me.

"There's something bothering me about this person. He seems to be an enemy, and the UH students aren't reacting well, but I can't sense any murderous intent whatsoever," he whispered.

"They can all hear you, so there's no point in whispering." Sicily's voice sounded from my right. "Besides, it's not fair if I'm the only one who doesn't know what you're saying."

"Hey, I can't hear either!" Cordelia now seemed more angry than confused. Sicily apologised.

"You've made a big mistake," Giles said, putting on his 'I'm way superior to you' face, "How do you expect to win against us in an eleven-on-one fight?" The face had no effect on Daarn, who just laughed again. He appeared to like laughing.

"Aren't you the one mistaken? This isn't eleven-one, it's ten against two!" He advanced toward the UH students, each one of them shuffling away like they didn't want to be anywhere near him. Seth, however, didn't move.

"I won't let you," he hissed forcefully. For the first time Daarn looked displeased. He dealt Seth a blow across the face, causing the boy's head to snap to the side. But Seth still refused to move, facing the black man defiantly.

"You again," Daarn said in disgust. "Always you, the one trying to steal my girl. Move."

"No."

Daarn glared at him. His eyes flickered briefly to the last student standing behind the blue haired boy and his smirk returned.

"Move him."

The order was acted upon so quickly that I had no chance of reacting and helping Seth. The poor boy was flung away in a manner similar to Oz. Luckily he landed in a pile of straw used for packing crates and seemed relatively unharmed. His attacker lowered their arm, straightening fully. Daarn laughed once more.

"That's my girl. Dear Chaz."

The girl moved to stand next to the black clothed man. Of all of the students I knew Chaz would be the one to betray us. With her pretentious airs and the way she didn't seem quite the same as the others, it was clear she couldn't be trusted.

"So she's going to help you defeat us and get your fiancée, huh?" I said. "Makes sense. She's the same as you."

My remark, intended to show that I wasn't afraid, didn't get the reaction I thought it would. The grin on Daarn's face grew wider and Tanny looked shocked. She looked over at me, disappointment in her eyes and her face for once not smiling.

"You shouldn't say that Buffy. Chaz and Daarn… they're not alike at all."

"They're the same species right? Even their faces look the same." It was true. Now that they stood next to one another it was clear that they had the same bone structure, same eye shape and same mouth (though one was still split in a grin). There was no way that these two had no relation to each other.

"That's because they're cousins," Tanny explained.

"See? She's family. You knew that already! Tell me how they aren't alike."

"For starters, Daarn is a sadistic creep that tortured his younger cousin until her mind became broken and unable to do anything other than obey him when he's near her," Maria said, hatred apparent in her voice.

"Yeah! But Chaz is sweet, and caring, and will help us out if we're in trouble!" Tanny continued the point. "She'd never willingly marry that guy!"

Her last comment made us freeze. So the fiancée Daarn was looking for … was Chaz?

"But she's _thirteen_!" Giles cried out in shock. The elder cousin shrugged.

"So? I'm nineteen. It's only six years' difference."

"That's not the point! She's underage!"

"Underage?" Daarn sneered. "The rules of lowly humans don't apply to us."

"'Lowly humans'? So now we're _'lowly'_?" Cordelia was furious with the man she had once hoped would be her boyfriend. I guess she wasn't after that anymore. "Who do you think you are, acting all high and mighty? In case you forgot, you are part human too. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't take this stake and ram it straight through your heart in the next ten seconds." She brandished said stake. Daarn smirked.

"You can't because you won't be awake in the next ten seconds."

There was barely a flicker and Chaz was beside Cordelia, whose face was plastered with surprise as her hand relinquished the stake and she crumpled to the ground. The girl still standing had her hand raised, remaining in position from the strike she had just given to Cordelia's temple. She silently returned to her fiancé.

"There's a good girl," he praised, lifting her chin up with a finger before leaning down to kiss her. The girl made no sound, no protest, as he did so. Jacob grimaced.

"Stop that you twisted freak," he growled. Daarn looked up at him and released Chaz.

"So she's special to you too? And here I thought you already had a woman."

"Tanny is more special to me than anyone, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Chaz. She's our friend!" His hot-headed fight mode finally kicked and he rushed toward Daarn. In unison Tanny leapt forward and grabbed hold of Chaz to stop her from attacking Jacob. The boy was left with a clear shot at the older male and he took his chance using a fist that was suddenly surrounded by a blazingly red fire. Just before the punch could hit Daarn blocked it with his palm. A black fire curled from his fingertips, nullifying the red. Jacob was thrown onto his back on the floor from the superior strength of the fiancé.

Daarn's controlled his flames to morph into weapons, like Chaz had done when I'd fought her. But this man was in another league. If I hadn't seen the technique before I would never have known what happened. The changed was practically instantaneous, occurring in the milliseconds as Jacob fell.

There was a sickening noise and Jacob yelled in pain as his arms were pinned to the ground by two long poles that were thrust by the sadistic opponent. Daarn leaned in closer to watch the boy's pained face, placing a foot on Jacob's knee. He applied a little pressure and twisted his foot slightly.

"Hey, did you know? Spears – like the ones in your arms – are the symbol of our family. Do you like them?" Jacob only hissed in response and there was a loud crunch. The boy writhed in pain when Daarn broke his leg, causing more blood to flow from his impaled arms. With a gleeful pull Daarn wrenched the spears from the red-head's body. They looked terrifying with red dripping from their sharpened points. The man released them and they dissipated back into flame, and then nothing.

There was a cry as Tanny – distracted for one moment – had been caught off-guard by Chaz, who had now switched to her form with tail and wings, hair silvering. But her eyes, instead of being lit on fire like before when I'd fought her, were blank and empty. They were the eyes of a person who wasn't really there. Her hands held that flaming dagger that had injured me before.

"Tanny!" Maria shouted. "Grab Jacob and get out of the way. You know you're nearly useless here. Find Seth's first-aid kit and take care of anyone who's hurt."

"Why is she useless?" Giles asked.

"Shut up," was the only response from Maria. She looked like she was thinking. Having been rebuked Giles turned his question to Sicily.

"These guys have fought Daarn before. They know that Tanny's command over water, fire, earth and air are no help in this situation," Sicily replied. "Daarn is stronger than Chaz, so the water is evaporated and Tanny can't take control of his fire. Air is just fuel for flames, and look around you. It's all concrete and metal here. There's no earth to use. At least they still had that the last time."

"You don't seem worried though," Xander pointed out. The Italian shrugged.

"We all live through this. Jacob's case is the worst. Giles, you said you couldn't feel any murderous intent? That's because Daarn isn't here to kill us, he's here to play with us. It's what he does."

"Sicily." The call came from Maria. "I need you, Giles and what's-his-name to keep Chaz under checks for a while. Buffy and I will take care of Daarn. Let's go."

We abruptly leapt into action with this rough plan. Maria fired several shots at Daarn as I pelted toward him, immediately swinging down with my axe. The blow was met with his own axe, an exact imitation of mine. Though logic dictated there should be, there was no noise of metal clashing, no sparks flying. His axe shifted into sais, my axe sliding down and catching in the crook of one. The other was now free and Daarn used this to strike at me, barely missing as I released my weapon and jumped back. I noticed from the corner of my eye that Xander had already been knocked out by Chaz and Giles was being crushed by the force of her white tail. I turned back to my own fight.

"What is it with you dragons? Can you only make basic and old weapons?" I tried to use the tactic of provocation. Once again it didn't work and just made my enemy chuckle. He began lifting his arm and the sais returned to flame. By the time his arm hand levelled his chest a new item had formed.

"That's true for Chaz, yes. She doesn't even know what one of these is, let alone how to make them. I, on the other hand…." He smirked, the gun he was holding aimed straight toward my face. He considered briefly, then whipped his arm to the side to fire at Maria. There were two gunshots, minutely off beat as Maria fired second. There was a screech of metal and the two bullets fell from the air having collided with one another.

"You're good," Daarn laughed. No way. Had Maria deliberately aimed at a _bullet_ and actually hit it? Who was she? Who where all of these kids, able to rival me in attack power? "Let's see just how good." Daarn began to fire successive shots, continuous. There was no end to his ammunition. But Maria had to quickly switch between guns as each ran out of bullets; she seemed to know exactly when each would. But then, on her fourteenth gun, there was a _click_ that seemed louder than it actually was. Maria's eyes widened in surprise and a bullet of Daarn's got through her flawless defence. It struck her in the chest, and must have had more force than a normal bullet because she was sent back a few feet before falling. I tried to take advantage of his turned back, rushing and snatching my axe from the ground, swinging for his head. Time seemed to slow as I was knocked sideways and sent spinning through the air. In one of my rotations I could see that Sicily was the only one left standing from the group that faced Chaz.

I landed hard on the concrete near to Maria. Daarn looked down at me with disdain.

"Did you really think that would work? My fiancée isn't the only one with one of these you know." He made his point clearer by moving his tail back and forth behind him. Its scales were obsidian black and the appendage itself was viciously spiked; I had sustained several cuts from the spines. The wings stretching from his back were large, much larger than the younger cousin's, overpowering and intimidating. But worst of all were his eyes. His eyes, lit with a dark flame, impossibly deep and staring right through me. It made me shiver in an automatic response. He advanced towards us.

Halfway, he stopped. His head tilted to the left slightly, then he shrugged.

"I can't be bothered anymore." The draconic features all disappeared and Daarn moved to lean against the warehouse wall, completely relaxed. He didn't seem like he would attack so I quickly knelt next to Maria. Her eyes opened and she looked at me and my shocked expression.

"You were shot… How can you…." I couldn't finish my question, I was so surprised. Maria didn't answer, simply reached under her shirt and pulled out yet another gun. Part of it had cave in, with a bullet lodged in the centre of the dent. She sat up, wincing as she did so.

"Ouch. Think I smashed a couple of ribs." She looked over at the other fight.

Sicily was darting about, dodging every punch, swipe kick and cut Chaz threw at her. There wasn't a wound upon her, and she was easily predicting the next attack.

"Wow," I said. "She's doing really well."

"No," Maria hissed. "This is bad."

"What?"

"Sicily may be able to see the future, but she's still only human. She's got as much strength as…" she thought briefly, "as Cordelia."

"That's weak…"

Maria nodded.

"We need to help her." She tried to sit up but cried out in pain. "Damn these broken bones," she muttered. I glanced over at Sicily to see that her movements were indeed becoming slower. So slow, in fact, that Chaz actually landed a hit and Sicily crashed down to the floor. It was over for her. I leapt up to help, but didn't get any further than my feet.

Seth wrapped his arms around Chaz, preventing her from moving at all and pinning her arms and tail. He began to soothe her, murmuring into her ear.

"Chaz, Chaz. It's all right. We're here for you. He's not going to get you again. You're safe."

Her eyes widened and some light returned to them.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really," Seth replied.

"Thank you." Her eyes slid closed and she fainted. Seth struggled to hold her up and Tanny leapt out from somewhere to help him, lifting Chaz from his grasp.

"Seth!" she exclaimed, "You're alright!"

"Yeah. Didn't you notice? Chaz threw me into that pile of straw so I wouldn't get hurt."

"She always goes easy on you," Tanny pouted.

A laugh from nearby reminded us of Daarn's presence and we all tensed again, ready for a fight. He held his hands up in front of him.

"Relax," he said, "I don't want to fight anymore. It was good fun, but I have better things to do." That was the only thing he said before sauntering off between the warehouses, quickly disappearing into the shadows.

"What just happened?" I blinked, confused as to why he just left.

"He did that last time too," Maria said. "Just gave up and left. But it's good, because we don't yet have enough power to take him on and win." She frowned, almost like she was disappointed with herself.

"Well, this time it's really over!" Tanny cheered.

"Yeah. Let's get everyone patched up and back together again," Seth said. I stood still for a moment, taking it in.

"It's over."

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><p><strong>This is the last proper chapter. There will be an epilogue, posted tomorrow. <strong>

**For anyone who doesn't know what a 'sai' is, it's those weapons that Raphael from the 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' uses. You can Google Image it if you want. They're pretty awesome.**

**Please review, and I'll see you tomorrow!**


	11. The End

**This is it. The final part of Seeing Fate. To anyone who actually bothered to read this far, thank you. Thank you to Rhian and Milly as well, for reading it all. If anyone is interested, last chapter was the longest at 3031 words - more than twice the length of the first chapter! And the epilogue is 1000 words exactly.**

**On with the show.**

**~I do not own _Buffy: The Vampire Slayer_ and never will~**

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><p><strong>Epilogue: The End<strong>

**Buffy's POV**

"There's something wrong with this image," Xander commented. We'd walked into the library and were confronted with Tanny holding Jacob in a bridal-style lift. The red haired boy blushed angrily.

"I don't like it anymore than you do," he snapped. "I can't exactly walk or even use crutches, can I? Only Tanny likes it."

"And me," Maria laughed from behind him. Jacob attempted to raise his fist at her, but failed miserably when he remembered that his arm was swaddled in bandages, as were his other arm and his leg. Presumably the bandaging had been done by Tanny, as the wrapping was pink.

As we entered further I looked around at the smiling faces of the UH students. They'd recovered quickly from the battle last night – mentally at least. Other than Jacob, they all appeared fine on the surface, but underneath they still looked worn and a bit battered. I don't think they cared though. My eyes came to a stop at Seth. He was holding onto the handle of my axe, the one I had been using yesterday.

"Hey, why do you have my axe?"

He blinked, then smiled sheepishly as he answered.

"Well, Tanny kind of took it with her last night. None of us were paying enough attention, but we thought we should bring it back when we found out."

"Not fair. I wanted a souvenir," Tanny pouted.

"You call that a souvenir?" Cordelia exclaimed. Tanny nodded enthusiastically, jostling Jacob and causing him to hiss. But I think his embarrassing situation was hurting him more.

"Tanny," Maria said, much more seriously now, "you shouldn't take other people's things. I almost got killed because of you. My Browning semi-auto only had twelve shots."

"How many is it supposed to have?" Oz asked.

"Thirteen. But _someone_ must have been messing around with it because I was fairly sure it had a full round." She glared at Tanny.

"Sorry, sorry," was the pink girl's reply as she wore an expression that made it clear that she wasn't sorry in the slightest.

"Anyway, is there something you wanted?" Giles asked. Sicily stepped forward and I stared a little. Her pink and yellow dreadlocks had gone, replaced by red, white and blue. Scattered throughout these new dreadlocks were star-shaped beads. She noticed my focus on her haired and she smiled warmly.

"Like the change? I thought I'd celebrate America." I nodded. She turned back to Giles' question. "We came here this morning to say goodbye. There's no more need for us, so we'll be going back to our school."

"Yeah, let's get going already!" Jacob cheered. Tanny joined in and, caught in the excitement, ran around the room twice before leaving, forcing us to move to the side to let them through. Maria followed them out much more slowly, with a small 'bye' as she passed us. Seth came next, as always apologising.

"Please excuse them. They can be a bit… well, you know." He straightened and ran through the door. "Wait for me!" echoed from the corridor, along with a continuous noise of pain from Jacob.

Chaz came next, her head down but her back straight. She paused in front of us. Now that I knew of her past I felt a lot more sympathetic towards her. But if she was surrounded by the loud, idiotic, brilliant friends she had then I was sure she'd get better one day.

"I apologise. My actions last night are inexcusable. I wish that you had not had to have seen that part of me. Please understand that my intention was not to cause you trouble in the slightest_. Jeg er lei meg_." She left. The confused look on my face must have been noticed because a hand patted my shoulder and I turned to my right to see Sicily.

"She means that she's sorry."

"Oh, right. Sicily…" I paused. She waited patiently for me to finish my sentence. I sighed. "Are we really going to forget you guys?" She nodded.

"Unfortunately, yes. You're memories will still be there, but you won't be able to access them. If by some chance you do consciously remember us, that means we've come back. Which probably won't turn out well, knowing us." She smiled. "But for now, a word of advice; don't put all your trust in faith."

"I'm not religious."

Her smile became pitying.

"You'll understand soon. _Addio_."

And then they were all gone.

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><p>I twiddled a pen with my fingers, anticipating being bored out of my mind. I really did not get history! What was the point of knowing all about dead people? And God knows I knew enough about <em>them<em> anyways. I stared at the clock ticking through each second, waiting for the teacher to arrive. We'd be having a sub, 'cos our normal teach was ill.

The door opened and we all sat up straight as Principal Snyder walked in, glaring at us all. It felt specially aimed at me, but when isn't it? He strode forward and stood behind the teacher's desk. Leaning towards us, he spoke.

"Now, you will all have to take good care of your substitute whilst she's here. Because she belongs to another school I do not wish to see any of you," he said, staring straight at me, "making her feel unwelcome." He stood upright again and adjusted his tie. "Now that's over with; feel free to teach these kids in any way you deem suitable."

There were a few footsteps as the sub headed for the desk. She wore old fashioned clothes and large circular glasses that had clearly been broken at some point and fixed up with tape. Her greying hair was pulled back into a short ponytail that stuck out at a gravity defying angle. I have to say, she wasn't what I was expecting. I blinked slightly at the strange though. Just what _had_ I been expecting then? All history teachers – even substitute ones – were boring, old, and led to no interesting events.

Right?


End file.
